Transcript

Transcript

Transcript

Transcript

possibility to reduce the crown of the plane trees? Would that be another alternative? The problem with doing that is the insurance companies and the thing is it has to be done on a repeated basis and then to make a meaningful difference to have to reduce 50 to 60% of the whole crown of the tree which should then render the tree with virtually no visual amenity. And so it's perhaps, if you're going to do that, it's perhaps better to remove the trees in totality and plant more appropriate species. Okay, thank you. Mr Roberts? No, thank you, Chair. That site has a substantial number, I don't know how many, I've never counted them, but it's a substantial number of mature trees there. And particularly remove those four plane trees would very much alter the perspective of that estate. Is that not the case? It would have an impact on the visual character of the estate, but they were planted as part of, they appear to be planted as part of the landscaping and they don't predate the development itself, so they're sort of part of the landscaping of it. Those London plane trees have a capability to grow to 25, 30 metres tall, so eventually, and they're growing quite close together, so at some point they'll need some intervention anyway for our biocultural reasons. But that's not the end of it? No. Bearing in mind the trees came off to the building and the buildings are quite old, would you consider the foundations of the building to be adequate? The buildings were built in 1905, somewhere around then, so the issues around subsidence and clay soils wasn't considered, so the buildings were built to stand at the traditional standard at the time they were built. Thank you. There's no more questions or comments. We'll go to a vote. Now we're asked to either approve this application or refuse the application, as you can see on there. So all those in favour of approval? Three. And refusal? Three. So that's three for refusal. Three for approval, so the chair has a casting vote and I vote to refuse this application. So this application has been refused. And we now move on to the next item, which is East Barnet School. Alright, OK, so this application relates to the installation of floodlighting to the existing sports pitch to the south side of East Barnet School. The pitch sits atop a plateau surrounded by an embankment and enclosed by semi-transparent fencing, predominantly three metres in height, rising to five metres along the ends, with additional ball netting behind the goals at around eight metres or so. As a result of the embankment, the surrounding adjoining properties sit at a lower level, however the scheme has been amended to site the single floodlights along the sides and increase the number of lights on the end columns to two, so it was previously reversed, containing the light more effectively and reducing the amount of light spill behind the goals. The scheme has also been upgraded to incorporate maximum cut-off louvers and maximum nine degree tilt, which will also mitigate the impact with deliberate reference to the level change to the surrounding properties. The proposal would support the operation of the school and the associated community use, including the corollary health benefits in accordance with the ambitions of the core strategy, and the Ecology Officer has sustained no objection. As such, the proposal is recommended for approval. Thank you. We have two speakers, Costas Nicola and Emma Godley. I think I've got Costas Nicola speaking in objection, if you'd like to. Nicola Costas, is it? Costas Nicola or Nicola Costas, I'm not sure. Costas, Mr Nicola, hello. I believe you're objecting, so if you'd take a seat. Okay, thank you. And then if you can turn the microphone on, there's a face picture at the bottom. Can you see the face, the speaking face there? Can you press that? Press it, yeah. No, just press the face, the picture of the face below. You might need to come and show you something that's difficult to see. That's it, that's on. And then you'll have three minutes, if you introduce yourself, you'll have three minutes to speak and we'll let you know when you've got a minute left. Okay. Hello, I'm here to represent the views of the majority of local residents who are strongly opposed to this proposal. Initially, I should stress that we residents, we are tolerant, reasonable citizens and local neighbors of the school, but we have genuine concerns and we hope that these questions and concerns are going to be as follows, which I'm going to read to you. Firstly, we have the big concern about noise pollution. Residents are very worried about the antisocial noise that will come from this proposal, which would disturb our bright to peaceful enjoyment in our homes. We already experience excessive noise daily during every school day, during the evenings and at weekends when this pitch is in use and this proposal would dramatically increase that. Secondly, a lack of data. There is uncertainty about future noise and light pollution levels. How have current noise levels been evaluated for this application and what measures will be taken to monitor the noise levels to ensure compliance with legal standards? Next, illumination times. Residents oppose the proposed illumination times if the proposal was to go forward. Reducing operating times for the lights would be essential and we would request clear documentation on those changes. The school starts generating intrusive noise from 8.30 on weekdays and 9.00 a.m. on weekends. This proposal would mean that residents have to tolerate noise up to 12 and a half hours a day during the week and seven hours a day at weekends. There is no volume control or switch off button when there is noise on the pitch and 22 people are running around. The only way to control that would be to reduce the hours the lights would be on. Next, light pollution. Flood lights will be intrusive to our property and our way of life with light spillage in our back lanes, gardens and homes. The lighting is shown to some extent to mitigate light pollution but as we know there will still be light spillage, bright lights and intrusive green glow from the pitch generating pollution. Given the proximity of our homes, how can this be acceptable? Lastly, community engagement. Many residents feel sidelined by the school. What measures will the school take to include resident views if the proposal moves forward such as joint review groups or site visits? We understand that both the school and the sports club would be operating on this site. This is a community school in a residential area and dual use of the site in this way would cause excessive disturbance. In conclusion, the majority of residents firmly oppose the proposed flood lights due to significant concerns about noise pollution, insulation data, current future impacts and intrusive light spillage. We urge the committee and the school to address these concerns thoughtfully before any decisions are made. Residents deserve to have their voices heard and consider it in this important matter in our daily lives. Thank you. Thank you. First of all, this is in the club. Can you say exactly where you live? I live in Richway Avenue. So you're one of the houses? One of the end of the pitches on the left, of the pitch. Can we point out exactly where you live? Probably close to the end of the penalty area along the goal mouth on the left. Just about there. OK. And you're talking very much about noise, which we do appreciate. But how much noise are you hearing at the moment up until four o'clock every day from the pitch? Well, from the pitch, on school grounds, we obviously hear when the kids are out on morning breaks, when they're out at lunch break, they're out playing, running around. So we put up with that because we live near a school and we appreciate that. Is that on the pitch or is that just generally on the pitch? On the pitch and in the grounds when the kids come out, it breaks. And then after school, we can hear kids running around doing things. And then I think up to three days during the week, the pitch is in use in the evenings during the summer. And sometimes that is quite excessive, but the worst of it is at the weekends. On a Saturday and Sunday morning in summer, really, we're not able to open our windows or go into the garden because there is screaming and shouting and quite a foul language sometimes, which we've complained for the school and schools plus about several times. Right. Yeah. I hope the school might discuss that with you. I mean, clearly that is a nuisance, but of course that will continue whether or not there are floodlights there. Yes. The only time we get really a graceful of peace from that is during winter when it's pitch black and it's peace and quiet and we can sit back and enjoy it. If these lights come in, we'll literally have this going up to every single day of the year. OK, thank you. Any other questions? Yes, Councillor Conway. Sorry. Do you know what the distance is from the end of your house until the beginning of the floor? From the end of our garden to the actual pitch of the fencing is probably, I would say roughly about 20 to 25 metres. OK, Councillor Roberts. Just funny, are you aware the school is or has planted trees, small conifer trees at the top end, certainly the top end, I didn't see further down, at the top end where it's next to the school premises? I think when those trees grow up, they will provide shelter from noise and light coming from those pitches. Well, I don't really think that would excessively reduce any noise or whatever because it's an open area. It's the size of a full football pitch and it's open all the way around. I don't think that would reduce noise much, in my opinion. But the trees are on their fence line, so as they grow up, they will provide a barrier? I don't think they will provide a barrier with 22 grown men or teenagers running around playing a football match. We're literally in our house, we can stand in the bedroom and even with windows closed, sometimes the noise is excessive and unbearable, even with windows closed at the weekend. Thank you. The picture we've been shown of what the site will look like with lights shows that the light is only on the football pitch. Based on your speech and the paper here, you disagree with that. Can I ask what that's based on? Well, because obviously you will get a green glow from the lights going onto the pitch, you will get a green glow flowing in the atmosphere, in the area. Thank you. I think that's all the questions. Thank you very much. Thank you. And now we've got Emma Godley speaking in support of the application. Thank you. Thanks for having me. Thank you. And again, your microphone is on already. If you introduce yourself, then you have three minutes to speak and you'll be given a warning when there's one minute left. Thank you. Thanks for having me today. Unlike most, the majority of those who have objected to this application, I live on day land and I back on directly to the expo pitch. I moved to that location with an 11 month old baby and an eight year old child. Was I concerned about the noise and the profanity coming from the school? Yes, of course, absolutely I was. However, other redeeming factors outweighed that and I chose to move to my home behind the school despite those concerns. Nine years later and now with the nine and 17 year old, having been through the toddler, young and now older child and teenage stages, we are a family who spend a lot of time outside and in our garden. Have my worries been justified? No, absolutely not. Yes, there is occasional profanity. However, I emphasize the word occasional. We do expect that with humans, they swear sometimes. The sounds of children playing or should I say teenagers playing, of kids football clubs at the weekend, of the occasional adults who already use the Astro weeknights, sometimes in the dark, are joyous, happy and enthusiastic sounds. It sounds of adults, teenagers and children who are passionate about kicking a ball around and burning off some energy while keeping both physical and mental health engaged. These sounds are delightful. They're not overly loud, just a happy, healthy, cheerful hum. With regards to potential overspill light, I don't believe that it will have negative impact on my own home or garden, nor that of my behind the Astro neighbors, many of whom are also supportive of this application. However, I have not necessarily made a supportive notion on that application. I welcome increased use of the facilities into the evening hours and strongly believe that amateur and social athletes will only add as a security deterrent, helping to keep our homes safe. To be completely transparent, as well as being a direct neighbor to the Astro, I also work at the school and am a parent of a Year 13 student at East Barnet and a Year 5 pupil who probably will choose East Barnet as his secondary choice. East Barnet School has a fantastic PE department who are passionate about engaging our children in sport and activity. I for sure fully support that drive and I trust that the committee today will see that the benefits to our community far outweigh the worries that some people may have. Worries, much like my own, nine years ago, when I moved to my home on Dayland, that will prove to be unjust. Thanks for listening to me. Thank you. I mean, could you as well point out exactly where you live on the plan? Yes, so I'm 80 Dayland. If you see the Astro on the right-hand side, I am the building that runs directly parallel to the top, to the north side of the Astro. Yep, pretty much in that circle, at the bottom of your circle that you're making. That's it, that's me. And my back fence is about four to five meters from the Astro fence. So you're, yes, your house and your gardens are quite close to it. Very close, yeah. Okay, thank you. Any other questions? Councillor Roberts. Just want to establish from what you said, you don't find it disruptive at the present time? Not at all. I think it's a lovely sound, kids playing and adults rent the pitch sometimes in the evenings. Even that, it's a lovely sound, just men, women, kids having fun, running around. They're there playing sport. They're not there trying to vandalise anything or they're not taking drugs or drinking. I personally don't think so. I've had a good look at the plans and the lights. I'm familiar with football pitches. I go to a few of them myself with my nine-year-old boy. The lights are very focused. There's Barnet Gate Astro 4G pitch on Barnet Gate Lane and those floodlights are very focused. There's no overspill onto the surrounding area. I don't, you know, I will see the lights from my house, but I don't believe that they're going to be coming into my territory in any sense of that. Do you have any other…? Sorry, due to the nature of the incline. So the incline is from the school falling away to the pitches. So there's a difference in height level. How do you think the lights will affect your property? Because you're at the lovers' stand. Yeah. Well, I guess that puts them more in my high line than people who are at a higher end, but I don't think that it's going to affect my mental health or anyone in my household or in my neighbouring houses. I think we'll see them just like we can see the domestic lights on the other side of the Astro now of people who live on Ridgeway. We can see their lights. I'll be able to see these lights. They'll just be a little bit closer and maybe taller. I don't feel like that should override the opportunity for more people in the community to look after themselves. Thank you. Any other questions for the speaker? No. Thank you very much. Thank you. And then we have Claire Blandon, who's down here as the agent, and she is the business manager of the school. Is there a representative from the school? Yeah, we've got Claire Blandon's name down here, but if you can introduce yourself. And then again, you've got 15 minutes – sorry, five minutes, three minutes to speak. Three minutes to speak, and you'll be given one when you have a minute left. Thank you. Hello, I'm Helen Chamberlain. I'm the school business leader at the school. The school wished to request planning permission for the installation of floodlights to enhance the use of our facilities for both our students and the wider community. The main driver is that they will enable an extended enrichment offer for students throughout the year, increasing their physical and mental well-being. Students' well-being is one of our top priorities, and unfortunately, many of our sports clubs have to be curtailed in the winter months because of the poor light, limiting the free local and vital student enrichment activities that are accessible to all. In 2020, the government invested in a national drive to encourage schools to open up their facilities for the benefits of communities and to enable schools to extend their facilities to sports and activity clubs. Also, a condition of the redevelopment of this site in 2010 from Sport England was that the school commits to making our facilities available to our local community. We are a community school, and all the outdoor clubs we currently let our facilities to are community groups offering sports activities to young people and adults. The installation of floodlights would also enable the school to generate further much-needed funding to help with the upkeep and investment for the replacement of the AstroTurf, which will in turn enhance the education and facilities available to our students. The school building is now over 10 years old, and we find that we need to update many of the facilities, a priority being the AstroTurf. Prior to the application for floodlights, the school is proud to say that it is not aware of receiving any complaints in respect of lettings related noise or other nuisance. Any complaints that we have received since the floodlight consultation have been investigated fully. The school, however, acknowledges the issues raised by the local residents since we proposed this initiative. An ecological survey has been carried out, and as stated in the committee report, any issues over the spill of light are mitigated through measures referenced in the lighting detail. With regard to noise, since opening the site in 2010, the school has had lettings averaging three nights a week during the summer months and during the day at weekends. As per the application, the school intends the use of floodlights for lettings for no more than three evenings a week, no later than 9pm. The school feel that measures taken together with restrictions on the timing of lettings are overall effective in ensuring that noise is not excessive. We have a large car park which is available for use by lettings avoiding congestion and minimising associated traffic noise. The mitigation measures, as well as restrictive hours of use, are considered to have an acceptable impact regarding lighting and ecology, as confirmed by lighting and ecology officers. Noise impacts are considered to be adequately mitigated by the restrictive opening hours and would not lead to subsequent infrastructure impacts, such as traffic and parking stress, and would enable the use of the pitch in the winter months in line with existing youth. The benefits to the school would be enormous. Thank you. Thank you. Can I just confirm that the times of this, we've got to hear that the floodlights will not be lit after 9pm on weekdays and 4pm on weekends? That's correct. I mean, currently, we're just past the mid-summer and evenings are starting to get better, but currently, how much are they used during those times, during the times that would be affected by floodlights then? So, at the moment, we have lettings during the summer up to around three evenings a week. A couple of them are no later than 8 o'clock. And then we do have football letting on a Saturday morning into the afternoon. So this might extend it to winter months, but overall, the impact you feel is that it's not going to be any greater than it is now? No, it will just get extended into the winter months, so we're not intending to extend the number of lettings that we currently have in the summer into the winter, because we want to ensure that we're supportive of residents and want to ensure that we're minimising the impact as far as possible. Yeah, I mean, I ask this because clearly we can't do anything particularly about the noise. No. That's not under planning, but it's whether the installation of these floodlights will increase that nuisance. With regard to the nuisance that we've heard from the objector, and there are 45 objectors, I think, saying the same kind of thing, what kind of relationship do you have with local people that they can come and complain and you'll take their concerns, address their concerns? Yes, I mean, as I've said in my speech, any complaint that we've had has been fully investigated. So there was a particular resident who was concerned, and we've had a number of meetings with her. The lettings company that we employ to kind of look after our lettings went round there on a Saturday morning to kind of measure the noise. The deputy headteacher who's been on site when there's been complaints has been down, and we haven't found it to be excessive, but obviously she's concerned, and we've done as much as we can to kind of support that. But as I said, those complaints came after we put our application in for the floodlights. We hadn't received those complaints prior to that, and we haven't had any change since really we opened in 2010 in terms of the number of lettings that we have during the summer. And clearly, we have a number of people in support as well, as we've heard. So yeah, thank you very much. Other questions? Councillor Callick. Thank you. When we visited the school to see the site and to see the effect it would have on the neighbourhood, you erected large netting at both ends to stop walls going into people's gardens. We did. It was to alleviate their concerns. Should in the future there be major concerns of, like, could you put blackout screens on the other sides of the curtain? Potentially if there are concerns and it's something that we can look at. I mean, as I explained when you came this morning, we are concerned about the neighbours. We had an issue where the balls, and it wasn't through lettings, it was the student, as they were playing football, were going into one of the neighbours' gardens and was causing her distress. So at our expense, we arranged to have that netting put up. So we're very responsive. We want to do as much as we can, but at the same time, we want to ensure that our students are getting the best offer that we can give them. Any questions? Councillor Roberts. Again, on the site visit, just confirming, there were quite substantial tree plantations there which, in the fullness of time, not next year, but moving forward, will provide protection from light falling on the rear gardens, yes? Absolutely, yes. And they were there planted for that purpose by the school? Yes. Thank you. OK, if there are no further questions, thank you very much. Any questions to the officers? No. Otherwise, we'll go straight to the vote then. The officers are recommending approval of this item, almost in favour of approval. That's all. So this item has been approved. And we move on now to the next item, which is 21 Hampstead Gardens. Thank you, Chair. This application relates to 21 Hampstead Gardens, the conversion of an existing dwelling into three flats, including part single, part two-storey extensions, roof extension and other alterations to the roof, and roof lights and associated amenity space, refuse and cycle storage. The extensions themselves have the benefit of a separate permission and, as we saw on site this morning, are currently being built on site. That's the location plan. The property is at the end of a cul-de-sac backing onto Hoop Lane Cemetery to the east. So this is the end property here. This is the cemetery. Some site photographs. So that's the existing side access way onto the next to the cemetery. The front elevation. This is the rear elevation. So this is the boundary line here. So this is a small extension at the neighbouring property at ground floor level and this current existing two-storey outrigger. The existing elevations. This is the property here. That's existing. These are the existing side elevations. The existing floor plans, ground floor plan and the existing garden. Ground floor plan and the roof sections. These are the approved elevations for the extensions that are currently being built. So this is the property here. So this is the rear. That existing outrigger has been extended sideways, coming no further rearward but to the side. So the main extension here, two-storey, small dormer in the roof. That's the approved roof plan. So the proposed elevations are essentially the same at the rear. This is the front. This is the extension here. So the first floor is extended partly over the ground floor but retaining this passageway for access to the rear. The proposed side elevation, the dormer window, which would overlook the cemetery. The floor plans showing a family-sized three-bed, five-person unit at ground floor. They'd have their own private garden here and the remaining garden is allocated for the other two flats accessed down this side passageway. There's no car parking existing or proposed on the front here and that will be the main. These are the bike stalls and refuse areas which could be positioned on this part of the site. You'll see in the recommendation that there is a proposal to have a legal agreement to restrict future occupiers from having residents' car parking permits within the CPZ. These are the proposed upper floor plans and there's a two-bed unit on the first floor and then a split level one-bed unit over this part of the first floor and within the loft. The proposed roof plan and sections which show adequate head heights for all floors to provide decent amenity for the future occupiers. So the main considerations are that the works with the exception of roof lights and the subdivision of the garden all have planning permission by virtue of a house extension application. The application is compliant with the council's emerging and adopted policies in relation to flat conversions and officers consider it's acceptable in terms of the impact on the character of the property as set out in the report. Highways raised no objections subject to these 106 agreements restrict parking permits and approval is recommended. Thank you. Thank you. I have two speakers on this item, Karim, Jat Brend and Atul Monga. I will both review that no matter which order you wish to speak in. Can I present my case? Yes, you are Mr. Monga? Atul Monga, yes. Yes. Thank you. Please do. You can take a seat. If you can introduce yourself and then you'll have three minutes to speak and you'll be given a warning when you have one minute left. Sure. Thank you. Okay. I speak here on behalf of all the residents of the cul-de-sac. I own number 17 which is part of the mid-terrace that's been impacted by this. You will note that 18 of us had objected to this initially when the first allocation came up. And when the delegated report of 14 June was put up, it simply referenced a single part two story and all the references to three apartment blocks was taken away, which appears to have been misleading at best and seems to have led people to believe that it is now just two apartments rather than three, which is highly objectionable. I think more importantly the proposal for conversion into family dwellings but in the absence of adequate parking very clearly does not encourage families to either own or rent such apartments and as we've seen in the houses that have been converted, it clearly, thanks to the creation of multiple kitchens and multiple bathrooms, results in single occupants per room becoming the predominant dwellers of such conversions and it is fair to say that 1069 Finchley Road which has converted into apartment blocks, this is the former police station which was converted and has no parking permission has had a lot of problem actually selling those apartments. Moving on, based on the usage of the space between the cemetery wall and the current wall of the house or the terrace, if car parking is permitted, there is clearly no possibility of a one metre space for people to pass through in case of an emergency, leave aside even under normal circumstances. To me and to the rest of us residing on that road, the reference to putting any kind of cycle parking is beyond bemusing because no house on the road that really has any cycle parking so it is clearly likely to be misleading. The conversion of other houses on the road should not be seen as a precedence because like I said, it's used for purposes other than actually families being there and like I said, the key thing for us is that the turning on the road, the radius on the road for turning absolutely does not permit any extension on the side because it will only come at the expense of the current parking areas, parking based on the road which defeats the entire purpose of actually not allowing additional parking for this house. So I just struggle to understand how this complies with the standards. Okay, thank you. With regards to parking, there is a condition that occupiers of these flats would not be able to obtain a parking permit, so that addresses the parking side. I would just like to clarify that the parking on that road is not restricted for all the 24 hours, which means that after 6.30 p.m. in the evening and before 9.30 in the morning, there is no stoppage on anyone parking on that road. This is very likely to encourage people to park on the road at the expense of existing residents and those that have cars on that road. Yes, I mean this is aimed at their unlikely to be able to afford to buy a car because they don't have to park it during the day, but that is there, that ameliorates that somewhat. Any other questions? No, we have no other questions for you, thank you very much. Thank you. And then we have Caroline Giatipran. Thank you. And again, if you can introduce yourself, then you have three minutes to speak and you'll be good in the morning. Yeah, I'll try to be quick. I wrote a few words just to not forget. So I'm a house owner from Dingwall Gardens, the parallel street. And I've been living there for 18 years. In the last few years, we've been experiencing serious parking issues since the conversion of several houses on our street into two or three flats. And Hamster Gardens became the only place for us to park our one car on most days. Also residents from neighboring streets are coming to park on our street as they have parking problems. This is a consistent problem throughout the day and not only at night when the restrictions are not there, because it's parking permits only until six o'clock. And then afterwards, like the gentleman said, anyone can park there. On top of that, Barnet Council decided, without consulting the residents, to allocate two parking spaces for electric cars on all our small streets. These are very small streets around us, which means, again, less parking spaces for residents. These are all small streets and the parking is very limited as it is. Increasing the numbers of homes will make it even harder for all of us. And bear in mind that every household, each household, is allowed to have two parking permits and converting houses into flats in these small streets just means less parking and more stress for us. We had a few issues with neighbors over parking because they have three cars in one flat. We have one car in a house and we own a house and we can't park our one house because they have three cars. It makes it very hard for all of us. These are very, very small streets and it's just making it very hard for all of us. Thank you. Okay, thank you. As I said to Mr Monga, there is a condition that people who occupy these flats will not be able to have parking permits. So if it's a single family house at the moment, they can have two permits. They won't be able to have any, so there won't be four more permits. Generally, I think converting houses into flats on these small streets is a problem. Yes, no, except that is everywhere. Parking is a problem everywhere. So any other questions? Thank you. Thank you very much. Now we have the, is the agent here? I have your name as Danielle Saint-Pierre. That's correct. Thank you, Chair. Thank you. Jen, if you could introduce yourself. You have three minutes to speak and we'll give you an order when you have one minute left. Perfect. Thank you very much. Good evening, everyone, and thank you for the opportunity to speak. My name is Danielle Saint-Pierre. I'm a chartered member of the RTPI and the agent for the planning application. As you would have seen when you went out on site today, there are a number of householder extensions that have been recently consented and have been constructed or in the process of being constructed at the property. One of these is the two-storey side extension, which already looks to change the relationship between the property and the boundary, particularly overlooking the cemetery. The point about the turning circle is an interesting one because actually there is no sort of legal right over that land to be able to use it as a turning circle, and the proposed two-storey extension, which is under construction at the moment, is already going to change that ability to be able to use it for that purpose. But what we spoke about earlier is in relation to the bin and bike stores, if there's concerns around the location specifically of that, there's a planning condition as well, that if there's a condition that would allow us to move that or relocate that subject to planning conditions, which could be assessed by officers at a later stage, if there was a concern in relation to that, with regards to turning of vehicles at the end of the road. I appreciate the concerns that have been raised by the objectors and the people that live on the road. As has been quite rightly pointed out by the chair, the situation with the house as existing is it's entitled to two parking permits on the road. The three flats as proposed would be entitled to no parking permits on the road at all, so it would actually remove two of the permit holders from the road by way of this proposal if this were to be approved this evening. So we hope that that would make the parking situation significantly better. In relation to the policy position for this application, your new policy, HOU3, it specifically states that the council will optimise the potential for housing delivery through residential conversion and redevelopment of larger family homes. If you go into that policy, this site meets all of those criteria in terms of its location, its public accessibility, transport rating as well, so I find it hard to see that your council couldn't provide any more support for this type of subdivision of properties as it meets all of those identified criteria. We're also looking to re-provide a three-bedroom property on the ground floor with a two-bedroom on the first floor and then a one-bedroom duplex in the loft, so a real good mix of accommodation in this location, which is also something that your local plan is seeking to provide. The housing is sustainably located and will make optimum use of the site, which was vacant for ten years before it was purchased by my client, so we don't want to end up in that situation for much longer. The public right of access as well has been maintained so that we can ensure that that will continue to benefit the local residents, and you can see that that's been done through the inclusion of the archway, which has already been built on site, so I hope that that clarifies all of the points that have been raised, but please let me know if you've got any other queries. Thank you. Thank you. Can I just ask, do you know how many other houses in that street are converted to flats? To the best of my knowledge, there are none that have been given planning permission explicitly. However, I'm aware that numbers one, five, six and seven appear to have council tax records as though they have been perhaps converted earlier, you know, in the past, so those properties appear to have been converted, albeit there was no planning permission explicitly for that purpose. Those are converted into two flats? I believe so. I believe they're converted into two flats. So three flats is rather larger than any others for that? I mean, the properties are all quite different along this road as well in terms of the size that's available to them, so there is enough, you know, there's more than enough space to be able to get a three bed, a two bed and a one bed, and all of them are, all of them are exceeding the national space standards as well. We've not made these small flats, they are, they're generously sized flats in accordance with the new London plan best practice guidance. So we've made sure that they're suitable size, so there is enough size, there is enough square footage in this property to accommodate the three flats that are proposed. Thank you. Any other questions? Councillor Roberts. I just wanted to clarify, it will be made clear to the occupants as when they move in that they have no parking rights there. Absolutely it would need to be, so for anyone that was renting or purchasing these properties, it would be marketed as such that there were no, there was no ability to be able to gain a parking permit as part of their, as part of their purchase or their rental. So the previous speaker, the objectors who very largely spoken about parking has been their concerns. Yeah, of course. As far as you're concerned that will not arise because there will be no parking space allocated with those properties. Yeah, there's no parking, there's no permits allocated to those properties. I'm aware of what, what the objectors have mentioned in terms of the timings of the permits, but they're even permitted at the weekend. So how feasible is it that you're going to keep getting up and moving your car every time there's a restrict and where are you going to put it? So I just, I think if you are reliant on a car and you know that you can't get a permit in this location, this probably isn't the location for you to be honest, but there's plenty of people that are going to make use of the station, the cycle parking that's available. You know, we're trying to shift towards more sustainable methods of transport. I think there's plenty of people that would love to live in a location like this, but that don't necessarily need to rely on a private car. There's also a number of car club bays located nearby as well, which people can rely on. The other questions? No, thank you very much. Thank you. Shall I turn this off? Thank you. Any comments or questions for the officers? Yes, Councillor Barmers. Can I just ask about the amenity space and how much space there is if there are three flats on that side? So the ground floor flat has this area here, which I cannot read. Basically the whole garden at the moment is about eight by eight, so 64 square metres. So I think the ground floor probably has slightly under 30 square metres and the upper two flats have this area at the back here, which obviously is going to be, well, another third again over the size of the ground floor flat. So it more than meets the standard for flats. Thank you. And also that that diagram seems to suggest that the pavement is going to change, which I assume it probably won't be, because at the moment, as I was saying, it's... Yes. So this is the, that's the front, the front wall of the property. So this is the pavement. If I just go back to the photograph, people have mentioned the turning circle. So as we saw on site, this is the road and then it's a very small turning circle. There's one on this side here and you can see the double yellow line here. That will stay the same. So that won't change, no. So they can't do any, develop over that part. So the development has to take place back within the curtilage of the property. And then there was an equivalent double yellow line on the other opposite side on the other end property. So it is a small turning circle, but there is a slight area there that people can use to turn round. OK, thank you. Yeah, I'd like to ask, can you just clarify our policy for maintaining single family occupancy of houses, and if they are converted into flats, the number of flats that each property should have. So I wonder, you know, two flats may be sufficient, three flats may be too much in this property. The emerging policy, which is the one we need to go on really, given it's kind of in a very quite advanced stage now, is set out in the report to try and secure family housing and protect family housing. There's a minimum size for a house that's to be converted. So if it's less than 135 square metres, we won't grant planning permission for flat conversion. That's not the case with this one. Has to be within a P-tail of three or more, which this one is, or it has to be close to a town centre, but this is in a P-tail three area. So that complies with the policy. All conversion applications have to provide a three bed, five person unit, which this one does on the ground floor. And then all other units should be 61 square metres. And in this case, they both are 61 or more square metres. So they do meet the floor size criteria for the new policy. The three flats here comply with our... It complies with the new policy, yes. Thank you. Any other questions, comments? We'll go to the vote. The officers are recommending approval. All those in favour? And against? Not voting. One not voting. So that application is approved. And we move on to the next item, which is Marwood Court in Grenison Road. This is an outline application to construct a third floor level to provide two one bed flats on the top of an existing flat roof block. Also provision of off street parking, refuse recycling, cycle storage for the whole block and new front access gates. All items are to be considered as part of the outline except for landscaping, which is the reserved matter. So this is the site here at the end of Grenison Road off Ballard's Lane opposite Victoria Park in Finchley Central. This is the block here. As you saw on site, the other side of the road is all housing, terraced housing, but this side of the road originally was all workshops and factories, although there has been some residential development over more recent years. This is the aerial photograph, so that's the block here, excuse me, showing the relationship with the houses opposite the adjoining commercial buildings and the relationship with the properties here in Wentworth Avenue. And these properties down here are Wentworth Park, and that's the view from the other side. Photograph looking down Grenison Avenue, so the site is on the left at the bottom down here. That's the front elevation showing the existing commercial use next door. So that's the building, three floors with a flat roof. And this shows the boundary with the rear of the gardens in Wentworth Avenue. And that's the view of the other side. So these are the existing floor plans, same on each floor, and that's the existing elevations. The existing proposed site plan, so currently there's no bin store, the bins were just left in sort of this front area. There is parking area at the back, but there's no formal layout for the car parking, and this is a communal garden area which serves all the flats. The proposal is to provide a gate here, accessing to the sites, to formalise the cycle parking and the refuse storage within the front garden for all the flats, and then to formalise car parking at the back here. So the communal space here will be largely unchanged in terms of the garden area for the residents. So that's the proposed rear and side, so essentially a new crown roof is going to be formed on the top. This is the side elevation and the rear elevation, dormer windows in all the elevations here, front and that's the front and side elevation, so this is the one that you would see from the street. The windows on this side here, which will be the ones facing Wentworth Avenue Gardens, are small kitchen windows and will be obscure glazed to prevent overlooking. This is the proposed third floor showing two one-bed flats layout. And the long section here, so this is the proposed, so that's obviously the approximately existing height, this is the new height, it's only one and a half metres higher to the ridge than the existing. And that's the Wentworth house, so it is slightly lower level here, but this shows the distance of 30 metres, 30 metre deep gardens to the properties in Wentworth. And as I said, the windows, the dorm windows on this side here are obscure glazed to avoid overlooking. Nothing further to add, thank you. Thank you. We have one objector, Mr K. Thank you, Mr K. I'd like to confirm we have received your emails as well, with your concerns, we have had a look at those. Again, if you can put the microphone on, there's a button with a face on it, can you see that? It's got a face on it near the bottom, there's a picture with a face, it's got three minutes to speak and you'll be given a warning when you have one minute left. Thank you very much indeed and good evening members. I'm actually here representing the neighbours, so my role is as an advocate on behalf of Mr Lester and the other neighbours who are here this evening. My name is Danny Kaye, I'm a child surveyor and a member of the Town and Country Planning Association and amongst other things. I was born in Barnet, I've lived in Barnet, I've worked in Barnet and I care about Barnet. I've been working in housing developments and urban regeneration for over 25 years. I've worked on over 500 development and regeneration projects, including for seven years as the Development Director for a leading London Housing Association. I now run a consultancy business aimed at promoting and delivering sustainable housing development. As such, I normally find myself advocating for new homes, however, this is a very rare example of the reverse. I've been fully briefed by Mr Lester and neighbours and indeed have supported Mark and others in their objections. Barnet rightfully has an excellent track record of delivering high quality housing and indeed strong plans for significant new supply, thousands of homes in key areas and other areas in Barnet. It is in this overall context that I believe this specific proposal is unnecessary, inappropriate and is a rare example of a mistaken, in my opinion, application interpretation of Barnet's own housing design and planning policies. In particular, I should draw your attention to the specific explicit wording contained in your 2016 supplementary planning document, which is called the Residential Design Guide, Proposals for new residential development should respond to the distinctive local building forms and patterns of development and respect scale, mass and height of the surrounding physical context. I don't believe this is the case. The pre-existing building, which no one can do anything about, is an aberration predated the SPD. An extra story would definitely be out of keeping, even if partly pitched, in terms of scale and typology. Moreover, the policy wording was designed to arrest further inappropriate additions of this nature. I at the representatives do not demurr from the housing needs, yet in terms of the balance of harm, the impact on all the neighbours of this additional story is out of keeping. And how long do I have? Okay. If I may, I'd like to pass round this photograph and just take issue with one of the slides that was up. It was showing a tree masking the new building. In fact, the reality of the situation is, as you can see here, effectively this area will be developed and will have a significant impact on the local character and suburban nature as defined in your own policies. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Questions? I'd like to ask with regard to that picture you showed from the garden. So the current top floor is already overlooking the garden. So are the concerns going to make it worse? It's going to make it worse. Significantly worse. In what way? So in terms of the overbearing and the sense of being overlooked in the overbearing nature, the impact on the gardens in the area. So if this isn't existing. The distance between the building and the boundary and the building and the house. I beg your pardon? The distance between the building and the edge of the garden and the building and the house far exceed the minimum that it should be. I'm sorry, I don't understand your point. The distance between this building and the boundary of the garden and the garden and more of the distance between that and the house. I understand and the committee report does make reference to distance, but that is only one element. There are a number of other policy references in your local plan, in your emerging local plan, in the SBT, which actually counter just the distance argument and I could quote from your own policies. I'm raising this because I do genuinely believe that this is inappropriate and will have an impact on the neighbours. OK, so really the concern is just overlooking of gardens? The concern is overlooking the overbearing nature of the scheme, the impact on the privacy or the sense of privacy and how that will affect the enjoyment of the gardens and the spaces that the neighbours currently enjoy. The pre-existing situation is not great, but it is what it is, you can't change that. An additional story will have a material impact, in terms of the sense of enjoyment and overlooking. Thank you. Councillor Barnes. So, are you just representing people from Wentworth Avenue? Correct. OK. OK, thank you. OK, thank you very much. Thank you. And then we have the agent, Joe Henry, I believe. Joe, you know how this works by now, you can introduce yourself to us, then you have three minutes. Thank you, Chair and Members. My name is Joe Henry and I'm the agent acting for the application. Despite the speaking object, I was born in Barnet, work in Barnet, live in Barnet and care about Barnet. The application has been referred to this committee by Councillor Rich because he was concerned about a possible overlooking of gardens in Wentworth Avenue. I did email Councillor Rich and he explained the windows facing the rear gardens of the properties in Wentworth Avenue are proposed to be obscure glazed to ensure no overlooking. He kindly responded and said he did discuss the matter with local residents but the remain of the view that an extra floor impinges on their gardens. As stated in your office report, the proposed two proposed windows facing the rear gardens at Wentworth Avenue will be obscure glazed, meaning there will be no overlooking. I would also draw your attention to Suggested Planning Condition Number 10, which requires these windows to be obscure glass only and shall be permanently retained as such thereafter. In respect of the impact the proposal has on the character and appearance of the area and the building itself, I would comment as follows. The application site forms part of a street which has a very mixed character of residential and commercial properties with varying designs, massing and heights. The proposal provides a crown roof extension on existing flat roof. The existing flat roof block style building has limited architectural merit. Almost every other building within the road and indeed beyond in Wentworth Avenue has a pitch roof. The introduction of a pitch roof would significantly improve the design form of the existing building overall, contributing positively to the character and appearance of the building and the locality. It is also important to note the proposal seeks to provide two additional dwellings which will contribute to addressing the housing crisis, something on which the new Government has prioritised as their top priority. Thank you for listening. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have. Thank you. Any questions? No? It looks like you explained your style quite well, thank you very much. Any comments or questions to the officers? Councillor Callick. The existing height of the building includes a balustrade. How much will the additional height, how much additional height will be added by adding the pitch roof? This element here is kind of a parapet around the existing flat roof. So the additional height is about one and a half metres because part of that will be taken away to provide the pitch. So the overall ridge is not a full three metre high new additional floor, it's about one and a half metres higher to the top of the ridge. Thank you. Any further questions? No? Then we shall go to the vote. The officers are recommending this for approval. All those in favour of approval? That's all. So this application is approved. Thank you and we'll move on to the next one now which is Four Woodside Avenue. Good evening Councillors. This next application is Four Woodside Avenue concerning the demolition of the existing dwelling on site and the erection of a new building with the basement level to create six new self-contained flats. This is the location plan of the site. You can see here's an aerial view and to the left there's a yellow star indicating the site and just to give you the context of the scheme, the far right of the image is the Finchley High Road which is in the north Finchley town centre. This is some photos, aerial views, you can see the opposite side of the applicant site has a variety of different buildings, building forms with flat roofs, whereas the side that the applicant site is on is a more traditional house form. These are the existing elevations and the existing floor plans. The proposed front and rear elevations. So it's a two-storey building with a crown roof form and at the bottom is a street scene image of how the building will appear amongst the neighbours. Side elevation, the south side elevation facing the properties on Woodside Park Road and the north side elevation facing number 6, Woodside Avenue. Section drawing there just illustrates the basement level and the light wells that are proposed. There'll be a lower ground floor. Across lower ground and ground there'll be three duplex units. So these are the ground floor units. Each of these units benefit from either a light well or a private rear garden amenity space, two units at the first floor and one unit within the roof level. Here's the proposed site layout plan showing five parking spaces within the driveway at the front and a large communal garden at the rear. So in summary, officers have assessed that the principle of the conversion of the existing house and its redevelopment to be compliant with policy and acceptable, the scheme would provide a good range of larger family sized units with a good standard of accommodation and as to parking, five parking spaces are proposed on site which has been again assessed to be compliant with policy and the application is recommended for approval subject to conditions. Thank you. We have four people listed as objectors. We can only hear two so I don't know who is here now, who would like to speak if you agreed which two are going to speak. If you can turn the microphone on, what's your name? It's a picture of a face, a picture of a face. That's it, that's it. Got it, okay. So on your name please. Right, first of all, my name is Rizwan Qureshi and I am the resident of 56 Woodside Park Road. Right, yes, thank you, if you can introduce yourself you have three minutes to speak and you'll be given a warning when you have one minute left. My first point is that my understanding of the law is that it's got a built in democratic factor. Every resident in the area has objected to this residence so I expect the committee based on this democratic principle to reject this development. The other point I'd like to raise is from my point of view, this application is invalid because it was wrongly validated by the planning department. First of all, they didn't have any scale or scale bar on their drawings. Secondly, the site plan of the area is from 2016, it isn't the current site plan for the area. So I failed to see with all these wrong informations how the planning department ever got to make that decision or recommend approval for this scheme. The other thing is, in my view, this contravenes Council's own policies. First of all, I applied for a planning application to my property which would have seen a first floor extension which was rejected, I have no quarrel with that, it was rejected that it was overbearing and it wasn't in keeping with the pattern of development on that street. So this extension on 4 Woodside Avenue is going to result in a much, much larger bulking than my extension was. So I failed to see how the Council can recommend this as being compliant with its own policies because they rejected mine. This in effect is like adding a three-storey extension to the existing property and it is huge. That's my first point. It's going to disrupt the development pattern of the street and if this application is allowed to carry on, then what's to prevent every other house in that street from becoming six flats. I failed to see a precedent will be set. Thank you, any questions? Sorry to hear about your own problems with getting a plan. I've got no problems with that. You brought it up, so I thought I'd just ask you, were you requesting having a first floor extension at the back of your property? That's right. Yeah, so that does differ to this, this is on the side of the property. No, no, no, if you look at the development using the existing buildings as standard, then the resulting bulk is a six-meter three-storey extension, if you see what I mean. No, I don't see what you mean, but I have looked at the plans. Yeah, its outward projection is huge to the rear of the property. On one floor? No, on three-fourths. We'll ask officers to clarify the situation. We can clarify that with the planning offices. Any other questions? No, thank you very much. So who else? We've got three other names, who else is speaking here? Let's clarify, that's okay with the other name and objectives, that's fine, thank you. And you are? I'll introduce myself, good evening. My name is Mr. Chan Doc. All right, thank you. I've lived in 12 Woodside Avenue since 1978. Okay, I was just going to clarify, you have three minutes to speak, you'll be given a warning when you have one minute left. Fine. Thank you. I've lived in 12 Woodside Avenue for 46 years since 1978 with my wife and I had two kids and then the third one was born in that house. And there are six houses which are twins. They're built by the same developer in 1945, number 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14. So when we purchased the house in 1978, they all looked like a tree lined detached houses on the right side and some Victorian houses on the left hand side which were converted into flats recently. One block was made into six flats without parking with 106 agreement and the other was 16 flats. I don't know on what grounds they got it, everybody had objected. But what we are finding now is that with this development, they are going to change the entire character of that street. Instead of detached houses, we are going to start getting flats on the right side when we have none on the right side because there are six houses, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14. I'm number 12 since 1978. And number 2, excavation of the basement is going to threaten the foundations of all the adjoining houses because 1945 built houses are all having one meter deep foundations. I did my own development. My house was virtually back was demolished and done in 2002 and we made sure because of the trees at the back, we had to go deeper foundations. And with this excavation, houses number 4, 6, 8 and 10 are going to be very badly affected and lastly, it will be me as well at number 12. So we'll have structural problems including subsidence and cracks in our walls because I've never seen any excavation in Woodside Avenue where you got a basement being done in the whole of Woodside Avenue. I will ask you to check your planning records. And the other question is basically, parking is a nuisance now, there's no space at all. And as the previous applicants have pointed out to your good selves, that basically people with one or six agreements, they will try and use the resident parking spaces which are limited in the area between 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. in the morning. And my only concern is that I was right, the gentleman was explaining, there are two flats on the ground floor with basement, two on the first floor, that makes it four and one in the second floor. But you're saying planning for six, I don't know how the addition is done. Is it two, two and one or is it two, two and two? That's my question to the planning officer. And the parking should be minimum six to eight cars. And I think there is not enough parking in the entire street. You can't have two cars passing by, parking on the left with a single car only. I had an accident on 22nd of November 2023, I nearly died. My car was written off outside the new block of flats, outside number four. Thank you. Thank you. Questions? Are you against flats in principle? My objection is basically it will change the character of the street totally. Already we have lost Edwardian houses with big gardens converted into blocks, two blocks of flats, ones with six flats with section 106, no parking, and the other one got 16 flats, eight and eight. They are on the corner of Woodside Park Road and Woodside Avenue. I had the accident outside there because the car came from the station and hit me at 50 miles per hour. And the guy was prosecuted by the police and I'm waiting for my thing to be sorted on the high court. For the injuries I suffered. I'm sorry to hear about your accident, but we're talking about the developments taking place in the road. You say no flat should be allowed in that road. That's my personal belief because already there's 22 flats down on that corner. You can check your records if I'm wrong. That was Edwardian house which was knocked down, I know Jeremy Lee sold it. And basically there's one block with six flats, no parking. And the other is 16 flats, eight and eight joined together on the corner. The planning officer will be best to answer that. Yeah, so I can appreciate you saying that those houses are all the same, but looking at the report, 16 to 18 Woodside avenues, that's next to where you live, that was allowed on appeal for being demolished and block seven flats. So there is precedent for this. And then 42 Woodside avenue has also been approved for conversion to five flats. So there are precedents for this and I know you're going to say that, but also I would say that from the design of this, study large and there will be a basement which you have concerns about, but otherwise it looks very similar to the house at the moment. So is that really going to affect the impression of that row of houses? Number 16 and number 18 don't have any basements, if I'm right. They were not permitted any basement, they wanted basement. It was rejected on the first time, second time they made it without the basement. And they are not detached houses. So the basement is the main concern? Definitely, because it's going to affect the foundations of the existing six houses which are joining number four. I'm number 12, I'm still four doors away rather than number six, Mr Shah and number eight I think the Vaswanis have sold out and somebody else has moved in. Number 10, Mr George, they are very, very concerned. That's why they did not allow more than two speakers, so we decided I would represent the people in Woodside avenue and the gentleman, my colleague, will be representing Woodside Park Road. And there's a very strong objection, I think there were over 50 objectors for that application. And I can't understand it, obviously housing is needed, but you're destroying the complete character of the street. Even numbers 16 and 18 have not started development. I think they can't do the funding or something of the sort. I know you permitted through the appeal about six or seven flats over there and there are two properties which are joined together. Whereas this is a single one and you're permitting six flats, which is an overdevelopment, believe you me. You try coming into that street, I've been there 46 years and we love that area very, very much. OK, thank you very much. No further questions. Thank you very much. Thank you. Then we have the agent, the agent here has Gareth Stockbridge. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Gareth Stockbridge and I'm the agent for the application. We've been working closely with the Planning Department on this project for just over a year. Starting with pre-application advice, which highlighted certain constraints and required amendment. This was taken on board in the preparation of the subsequent formal planning application submitted in September 2023. Since this time, we have been in close contact with the Planning Department, undertaking several rounds of amendments to address points raised during the consultation period and also changes in council policy. As a result of this, the matting of the proposal has been reduced and the number of units has also been decreased. We have noticed several of the objection letters referring to the character of the road and the fact that the flats could affect this. However, as stated within the Planning Officer's report, this issue was raised within the recent appeal decision at number 16 Woodside Avenue, where the Inspector decided that the character of the road had already changed, drawing on references to other flatted developments that have been approved and constructed within the nearby area. This has been followed up by subsequent planning approvals for similar redevelopment proposals within the road. The proposed new building has been carefully designed to respect site constraints, providing a stepped design to reduce impact on neighbouring properties. The overall height has been set to keep the new building within the established roofline of the street. We believe, therefore, that the scheme provides a high-quality development of mixed accommodation sizes, it conforms to planning policies and agree with the Planning Department that the application should be approved. Thank you. I'd just like to ask about, you've commented that, as I said, there are precedents with this. The Inspector has said that it's not out of character. The difference with this one is the basement and the lightwell, so I wonder if you could comment a little bit about the necessity for that, the impact that that might have. Well, the lightwell is set, because of the depth of the front garden, which is very deep, the lightwell is set behind, quite away from the pavement, will be largely invisible, it has planting around it, so visually, from the street, it will hardly be noticed. The basement adds additional space, it will be built in accordance with building control, structural designs and party wall awards, which will be required if planning permission is consented. Any further questions? No, that's all, thank you very much. Any questions for the officers? No, so I think we're going to just go to the vote on that one, the officers are recommending approval. All those in favour of approval, that's all, thank you, that application is approved. We'll try and get through them all now that we're moving on to Russell Lane, you can charge in Russell Lane. Okay, so members are advised that this item has a corresponding advert app being heard in conjunction, so I'm going to make just one presentation, but then there will be two votes subsequent to the discussion. This application relates to the installation of an electric vehicle charging point on Russell Lane, close to the junction with Gallants Farm Road. The unit will be situated on the outer edge of the broad pavement, fronting the commercial parade, servicing the first bay of the corresponding existing on-street parking. The proposed unit will be 2.65 metres high, and typical of those being rolled out across the borough by jolt in conjunction with the council. The proposal will retain 3.5 metres of clear footway, in line with the expectations of the TfL streetscape gardens and the disability act, and the proposal is considered to be commensurate with the mixed commercial character of the setting, and supports the roll-out of net-zero infrastructure in line with the strategic objectives of the development plan, and is therefore recommended for approval. Thank you. Is Mr White here, Rob White is an objector? Yes? You're Rob White. Right, okay. Yeah, if the objector isn't here, then, yeah, if you'd like to come speak to the objector. So, yeah, you can introduce yourself, and then again, you'll have three minutes to speak, if you give a warning when you have one minute left. Thank you. Good evening, councillors and everyone in attendance. My name is Patrick Thomas, and I'm the planning manager for Jolt Charge. As you know, Jolt has been working in partnership with Barnet Council to deliver affordable on-street charging, powered entirely by renewable energy. To date, we've installed 36 chargers, which have delivered 2.5 million clean miles to over 2,500 customers, most of whom live in Barnet. The applications before you tonight are the culmination of months of hard work and considered site selection with your offices and stakeholders. We are pleased officers recommended the applications for approval, and statutory consultees have raised no objections. We would like to thank officers for their thorough report and collaborative working. There are many benefits that flow from approving the Jolt Charger, whether environmental, social or economic. It's worth remembering that electric vehicles benefit every resident, whether they drive or not. In Barnet, the car remains the principal mode of travel, accounting for approximately 44% of all trips made. Barnet residents own 142,000 private cars, which is the second highest level of car ownership in London. Approximately 4,000 deaths per annum in London are attributed to air pollution. Barnet has one of the highest rates with 201 deaths per year. As a result, in 2010, the whole borough of Barnet was designated an air quality management area. Jolt is the only charging operator that provides a financial incentive, offering 15 minutes of free charging, equivalent to 30 miles, for those without driveways to choose an electric vehicle. We understand that electric vehicles and associated charging is new, and there is a lot of misinformation out there. The simple fact is that all residents will benefit from a greater number of electric vehicles on Barnet's roads. There are clear economic benefits. A recent survey showed that around 80% of Jolt customers spend in local shops whilst they are charging, boosting the high street and local economies. Jolt promotes local businesses and charities through free advertising on screens. This will be offered to all the businesses along Russell Lane. Jolt is already supporting charities and organisations such as the Arts Depot in North Finchley and local independent businesses in Temple, Fortune and Mill Hill. To quote a local business owner in Barnet, Since advertising on Jolt screens, we've seen a big increase in our business and the numbers through our doors. We'd never have been able to afford this sort of advertising; their presence is really making a difference. Barnet has rightly set ambitious carbon reduction targets, and with 41% of emissions coming from transportation, Jolt can make a significant contribution towards these targets. We hope members agree that the applications before them promote sustainability and green economic growth and can support the Office's recommendation for approval. Thank you for your time, and we'd be happy to answer any questions. Thank you. Now I know that Jolt charges are being, you've identified sites in nothing, almost always, not all wards in the borough, and they're coming piecemeal to this committee. At least two of us have had these installed in our wards already, with more or less number of objections and concerns. So this is another one that, on the face of it, seems to have fewer concerns than those in our particular wards. So are there any further questions? Councillor Roberts. I just want to ask, how long does it take to install these things, and how disruptive it is in terms of cabling, and what else needs to be installed with it? Yeah, that's a very good question, and it's very much down to UK power networks and where the point of connection is, obviously. Some installations are more straightforward than others, where the point of connection is close. But I guess we'd hope to really do it within a week, yeah, five working days. Once again, it's dependent on the point of connection, obviously. There's less disruption, for example, if you don't have to cross a road, for example. So if it's in the existing pavement line, that's very straightforward. But in many ways, we're dictated to by UK power networks on where we connect to. It's not up to us where, unfortunately, we get told by UK power networks where we have to connect. The questions? Councillor Barnes. A very minor question. This unit will just charge one vehicle, is that correct? That's correct, just one vehicle. Double-check. Okay, if there are no further questions, thank you very much. Thank you. Any questions to the officers? Yes, Councillor Conaway. Is it with an EV bay only, or is it just for the charger? Well, the application doesn't consider the designation of the bay. Understand from previous applications that have come before the committee that that's part of a separate series of discussions with the highway authority to then go around and demarcate the bays afterwards, but it's not part of this planning application. Thank you. Now there are two applications for this, one for installing the equipment, and the other for using it for advertising. Do we have to take votes on those separately, or, I mean, they rely on each other? If we vote for one and not the other, then they don't go through, do we take them separately? Okay. We'll go for the first one, down here is item 12, which is for the, no, that's the advertising, is it? Item 13, I think is, shall we go for first, which is installing the equipment for recharging, if that makes sense. And that means for the installation. Yeah, for the installation. So the officers recommend approval, those in favour of approval, that's all. And the other item for use of it for advertising. That's approved as well as those two items are approved. And we now move on, we're doing really well this evening, move on to, I think, the final item, Torrington Court. So the final item is Torrington Court in Torrington Park in North Finchley. It's an existing development with three blocks of flats and the proposal is to create five additional flats on the roof. Two of the blocks will have the existing pitched roof converted to a crown and door windows incorporated to provide flats, and the larger block will have a whole new floor with a pitched roof added to provide additional flats to that block. So this is the site, it's not working, this is the site here, so these two blocks are two storeys high at the moment and this one is three. That's an aerial view and some site photographs, so the side elevations of the two smaller blocks front onto the road. Block A at the back is the one that's higher, but it is set well back from the street frontage. The bottom right shows the rear elevation at the moment and the communal garden area. You'll notice those existing external fire escapes, those are going to be removed as part of the proposal, and the existing flats will be given Juliet balcony's on the rear elevations. Those are the existing ground and first floor plans, the existing second floor which is only at the moment on the block at the back, and the existing elevations showing the relationship with neighbouring properties. The property on the left hand side is actually a listed building, it's one of three properties that are listed. Existing elevations and sections, and again that shows the fire escapes to the rear which are going to be removed. So the proposed block plan shows the frontage area which is currently used for sort of haphazard parking. There's a block of garages around the back which don't actually form part of this application site and they're not used by residents, they're used for storage according to the applicant. So the proposal includes the provision of additional parking laid out at the back to serve these new flats. Proposed ground and first floors, part of the works involves internal alterations to lobbies around the staircase to ensure that the staircase is compliant as an escape stair given the existing external stairs are being removed, but that's all internal work. Once a new proposed second floor, so you've got two flats on the block at the back at this level, and one flat in each of the two lower blocks at the front, and then the additional flat within the roof space of block A which is the one to the rear. So you can see looking at the roof plan, there are no dormers facing the neighbouring properties at the sides, the dormers for the front blocks are inward facing each other and the other block A. Block A has dormer windows within the rear elevation, but that is some distance from the rear boundary, so there's no concerns over overlooking from those windows. That's a more detailed roof plan. And the proposed elevations, the red outline is the existing building, so you can see the increase in height provided to the larger block at the back, and then the smaller blocks which are actually not increasing in height, they're just increasing in the shape of the roof which will be slightly increased to create more of a crown roof, and some other elevations. And that's the location in context within the street, so as those two blocks at the front aren't actually increasing in height, they're just increasing in terms of the pitch to create the crown roof and the block that is having the increased floor is set well back from the street frontage. So the proposal officers consider is in keeping in this part of the street, the increased height to the rear is not considered to be particularly overbearing given how far it's set back, there's no increase in footprint, the fenestration changes are acceptable in terms of their appearance and given the relationships of the building to the neighbours and the fact there are no normal windows on the side elevations that would overlook the neighbouring gardens, there's considered to be no adverse impact on the neighbouring amenities, and the application is recommended for approval, thank you. Thank you, we have no speakers on this one, so I'll ask the agent for the application to come forward, thank you, if you can turn the microphone on, there's a face, that's it, let's introduce yourself, you have five minutes to speak and you'll be given a warning when you have one minute left. Thank you, good evening committee, my name is Oliver Virtual from Brooksbury Architects, I am the architect for this application, the scheme submitted for your consideration is a simple development which represents a sustainable way of delivering housing and optimising the potential of a previously developed site, the current proposal is a result of constructive engagement with your officers which started with a pre-application meeting over a year ago, we've worked closely with your officer to make suggested amendments to our design including a reduction in the massing of the proposal to protect the surrounding streetscape and neighbouring amenity, the revised scheme with its reduced scale and number of units is here tonight with full recommendation for approval from your officer, we appreciate that some neighbours have concerns with regards to the application, we've had a chance to review those applications and acknowledge that some of them are rightly understandable development control worries including privacy overlooking and overshadowing, however your officer has exhaustively examined each of these concerns and concluded the impact of the proposal on its immediate surrounding falls within acceptable limits, other residents are understandably concerned about noise and disruption caused by the construction works, my client is an experienced developer who has successfully undertaken many similar schemes across North London and if the application is successful a construction management plan will be submitted for approval under condition, my client's team will continue to engage with residents to constantly ensure that they are consulted and kept informed of works, I'll slightly cross to you, I've heard by the officer that there was some comments about the removal of the fire escape stairs, the existing floors on block A which is the taller of the blocks is to be adapted to, as per the submitted drawings, to include protected lobbies with double doors at each entrance to each unit and this will ensure that the main stair of the primary block is a fully compliant fire escape stair with venting windows, going forward this solution is much safer for residents than using external staircases which are obviously susceptible to getting wet and therefore slippy, thank you, in summary the scheme represents an opportunity to provide five new good quality homes without any long-term harm to the amenity of existing residents, the proposed scheme will also give our client the opportunity of enhancing the existing estate for example through the provision of dedicated waste stores which the building currently doesn't have, secure cycle parking for both new and existing residents as well as enhanced landscaping, thank you. Thank you, any questions? I'd just like to ask a little bit more about removing the fire escapes and you've mentioned that, so can you confirm that this meets fire regulations, what are the arrangements because there's only one staircase and one exit for people to escape by now? So on the larger of the blocks which obviously poses the most danger if you will, the submitted plans have the addition of an additional lobby to each of the units all the way up the building so that as you're escaping you go through two doors, two sets of doors which prevents smoke from flats getting into that lobby with the stairs in it, the stairs then have windows all the way up which vents the smoke out so that that staircase that comes all the way down the building will be a safe way to escape the building. We had, we did discuss the removal of the fire escape stairs with your officer and we originally had them remaining as balconies, we then because they were not satisfied that was a good solution we produced them back to Julia balconies. As I said at the moment they're not a particularly safe way of escaping from a building. So you have reports from the Fire Service that this isn't approved? We have used, we do a lot of this form of development, we have our target obviously will be the compliance with part B of the building regulations at building control stage. What we have designed allows us to fulfil that duty and we will obviously be seeking building control approval when we get back. I mean clearly you know fire is a major concern, this is a nobody large one but we have had fires in smaller blocks in Barnet as well so this is one thing we are concerned about. One of the other comments on the objections was about the removal of trees, I think there may have been trees that were removed before that are now going to be replaced, I'm not sure if you can comment. I can't speak for what has happened prior to my involvement in this scheme from 2021, I think there were trees at the front of the site which I believe were lay land ice so not particularly high quality, you will see on our drawings you can see just up there that at the front of the site we are proposing to bring back some landscaping and I believe your office has conditioned a full landscaping scheme which will certainly enhance the area. No trees are being removed for this? Not part of this application, no. Thank you. Councillor Cannick. Sorry, this question is just for my education. I was always told to believe that leaving windows open or air vents open fuels fires and yet you are saying it is there to let the smoke out so I'm a little bit confused on that point. The theory would be that if there was a fire in a flat in the building, the additional lobby that we've added to the building would stop that smoke getting into the staircase beyond and because the staircase as existing had windows that are open all the way up, that staircase will a) be prevented by that lobby from filling with smoke and if for whatever reason it did any smoke that goes into that staircase will rise up the staircase and straight out the windows on the outside of the building. Does that make sense? I could refer you to the part, I mean this building would become what's called a small single stair building in the building regulations and it would be compliant with that building regulation. I mean that's why we brought those lobbies into these buildings, into this building to fulfil our duty under the building regulations to ensure that there's a safe means of escape for this block of flats. Chair, may I make a useful suggestion? Given the exchange that's just occurred about the removal of the escapes and how fire risk continues to be mitigated, it might be useful to hear briefly from the officer to clarify that and of course the internal matters would be a matter for building regulations but just to reassure members for the record before a decision is taken the officer should briefly clarify, yeah. Any other questions for the, yeah so if officers could clarify about when this meets fire regulations for fire escapes with external fire escapes. Well obviously we as part of the planning process we don't deal with building regulations so we've been told that the works they're proposing internally will make the internal staircase suitable for being used as an escape staircase by the measures that the agent just talked about so if that is the case and it's then compliant with building regulations then it's not a matter that we need to be concerned about and there's no requirement for a fire statement as per government policy because the building's not, it's not 18 metres high so it doesn't need to go through the formal process of having the fire strategy approved which is different for high-rise buildings. Four floors is quite high to jump out of the window if you think I'll get to that mistake. It is but in terms of sort of national requirements it has to be an 18 metre high building to require the additional submission of additional statements. So chair I was concerned about this also and my understanding is now that, correct me if I'm wrong, to the planning officer that the escapes having been removed, building regulations have satisfied themselves that the internal staircase is sufficient to allow for escape and some of the other documentation is not required. I just wanted that noted for clarity on the record that this has been considered, that it's been taken care of elsewhere through building regulations particularly given the removal of those structures and I think that clarification has been given now. I think the agent said they haven't, people don't apply for building control approval until they've got planning permission so he's obviously, if he's experienced, he's done these kind of, this work before he's clear what will come under that, I mean if for some reason they do have to change the plan and that has a material change on the planning permission, they'd obviously need to come back to vary their planning permission. So as far as I understand it's all in turn. So clearly fire safety is I think probably out of the concern with this particular application. Okay thank you very much, no other comments or concerns we'll go to the vote on this one. The officers are recommending approval, all those in favour of approval, that's all, that application is approved. Thank you very much. Now the next meeting is in only two weeks I think, on Wednesday the 9th, so we're proposing site visits on Tuesday the 8th, if that's suitable colleagues, and probably we'll have the virtual briefing on the same day, but that has to be confirmed but certainly site visits on the Tuesday. Yes if that's not cancelled, yes that's on the Tuesday, yeah all at once. Okay thank you very much.

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Transcript

Everybody, thank you for attending. It's seven o'clock now so we're going to start the meeting. I'm Councillor Claire Farrier, the chair of this planning committee, so thank you all for attending and I will now ask members of the committee to introduce themselves and then the planning officers and the legal officer and governance officer. So start with you Councillor Roberts. Do you all hear me sorry? Yeah I thought someone. You don't need that twice. Councillor Richard Barnes. I'm Mark Springthorpe. I'm one of the planning managers. I'm Lesley Feldman, the other planning manager. Jonathan Mills, planning manager, Patrice. Suzanne Yildiz. I'm the legal advisor to committee this evening. Carina Dimitriou, governance officer. All right, thank you. Now we ask that you remain seated during the meeting unless you're coming to the table to address the committee. Please note that the meeting will be recorded and broadcast as allowed for in law and by the council, so by attending either in person or online you may be picked up on recordings. So our recordings are covered by our privacy notice and that can be found on the website bonnet.gov.uk. Now for each application the planning officer will first present the applications, then each speaker will have three minutes to address the committee and the governance officer will inform you when there is one minute left. After that the members of the committee will have the opportunity to ask questions of the speakers and then of the officers and we will then discuss and the committee will determine the application and I will announce the committee's decision after that. So when you come to the table we'll ask you to turn your microphone on which will help you with if you can't see the button to turn it on with and we can only have one microphone on at a time to ensure no feedback. So going on to the agenda now. The minutes of the last meeting and members read that, approve that, five minutes. Absence of members, I think all members of the committee are here this evening. Do any members have any interests to declare? No that's right, dispensations granted by the monitor officer, there are none. An addendum has been published and sent out to all members, I hope you've all seen that and officers will refer to what's in the addendum when they present each item. So we're going to move on to the first proper item on the agenda which is the Thomas Watson Cottage Homes in Leecroft Road in Barnet. I'm going to ask the officers to present that. Good evening councillors, the application for you tonight has come before committee because there's implications on the decision on the public purse. The application is to fell four London plane trees and to reduce two oak trees by around six and five metres. This is the site plan and the protected trees here. This is the protected oak tree one and the protected oak tree is this one here and the protected London plane trees are located within this group here and this group there. This is the aerial view of the site, there's the oak tree. The implicated houses are just these two here, the 11 and 12 Leecroft Road and the London plane trees are located here. This is the applicant site plan which shows the location of the damages on the properties which are all located towards the London plane trees which are six and seven there and ten and eleven here, sorry eleven and twelve which are those two there and the affected properties is that one there. T13 is the other oak tree here and that's T1 the oak tree. This is the site photographs, this is T1 which is a large mature and established oak tree. These are T7 and 8 which are the oak trees here, sorry London plane trees, these two here and these are 11 and 12 which is these two trees here and this is T13 the oak tree there. The damage occurring in the property can be seen quite readily with cracks down the walls around the windows and there by the windows there which is typical for general subsidence cases and it's also visible outside the property just here by the windows and then just around the base of the bay window. There's no relevant history for the trees and these properties in the past although there was movement that was being repaired in 2013 and 14. Our engineers have looked at the application and have concluded that the London plane trees are directly implicated in the movement. He also asked for DNA samples but London plane trees are clones so they're genetically similar so a DNA sample wouldn't be beneficial so it's likely that of those four plane trees one or all of them are affecting the properties. They also agreed a possibility of root barrier would be a feasible mitigation for the movement and the key considerations that the evidence provided is that the London tree roots have been identified underneath both properties in causing the damage. There was no oak trees found oak tree roots found underneath the properties but the applicants have decided to take precautionary measures to provide to reduce the trees and then the cost if the application is concluded that the evidence isn't sufficient there's maybe an excess of £105,000 compensation costs may be liable to the council. So the recommendation is based on the evidence provided to whether the remedy of subsidence on the basis of the information provided. Thank you. Thank you. We have no speakers on this item and I don't think the applicant is speaking either. So do members have any questions? Councillor O'Connor. Thank you. In your opinion would a root barrier be as effective as removing the trees? They can be yes. So the root barriers effectively are three to four meter deep trench dug around the affected properties and then they insert a copper barrier that seals completely separates the trees from the properties. But from from the evidence that you've described would sound to me like there's no evidence that the oak trees are causing problems so my inclination would be to leave them alone. Would it be a possibility to reduce the crown of the the plane trees? Would that that's not what the application I know that's not what yeah would that be another alternative? I know that's not what the application is. The problem with doing that is the insurance companies and the thing is it has to be done on a repeated basis so and then to make a meaningful difference to have to reduce 50 to 60 percent of the whole crown of the tree which should then render the tree with virtually no visual amenity and so it's perhaps if you're going to do that it's perhaps better to remove the trees in totality and plant more appropriate species. Okay thank you. Mr Roberts? No thank you chair. That site has a substantial number I don't know how many I've never counted but substantial number of mature trees there and particularly remove those four plane trees would would very much alter the perspective of that estate is that not the case? It would have an impact on the visual character of the estate but they were planted as part of they appear to be planted as part of the landscaping and and they don't predate the development itself so they're sort of part of the landscaping of it. Those London plane trees have a capability to grow to 25 30 meters tall so eventually and they're growing quite close together so at some point they'll need some intervention anyway for our bicultural reasons. Bearing in mind the trees came off to the building and the buildings are quite old would you consider the foundations of the building to be adequate? The the buildings were built in 1905 somewhere around then so the issues around subsidence and clay soils wasn't considered so the buildings were built to stand of a traditional standard at the time they were built. Thank you there's no more questions or comments we'll go to a vote now we're asked to either approve this application or refuse the application as you can see on there so all those in favor of approval three and refusal three so that's that's three for refusal three for approval so the chair has a casting vote and I vote to refuse this application so this application has been refused and we now move on to the next item which is East Barnet school all right okay so this application relates to the installation of flood lighting to the existing sports pitch to the south side of East Barnet school the pitch sits atop a plateau surrounded by an embankment and enclosed by semi transparent fencing predominantly three meters in height rising to five meters along the ends with additional ball netting behind the goals at around eight meters or so as a result of the embankment the surrounding adjoining properties sit at a lower level however the scheme has been amended to cite the single flood lights along the sides and increase the number of lights on the end columns to two so it was previously reversed containing the light more effectively and reducing the amount of light spill behind the goals the scheme has also been upgraded to incorporate maximum cutoff louvers and maximum nine degree tilt which will also mitigate the impact with deliberate reference to the level change to the surrounding properties the proposal would support the operation of the school and the associated community use including the corollary health benefits in accordance with the ambitions of the core strategy and the ecology officer has sustained no objection as such the proposal is recommended for approval thank you we have two speakers Costas Nicola and Emma Godley so I think I've got Costas Nicola speaking in objection if you'd like to knit so Nicola Costas is it Costas Nicola or Nicola Costas I'm not sure Costas Mr Nicola hello I believe you're objecting so if you take a seat okay thank you and then if you can turn the microphone on there's a face picture at the bottom do you see that the face speaking face there can you press that press it yet I just pressed the face the picture of the face below you might need to come and show you something that's difficult to see it no that's it that's it that's on and then you'll have three minutes if you introduce yourself you have three minutes to speak and we'll let you know when you've got a minute left okay hello I'm here to represent the views of the majority of local residents who are strongly opposed to this proposal initially I should stress that we residents we are tolerant reasonable citizens and local neighbors of the school but we have genuine concerns and we hope that these questions and concerns are going to be as follows which I'm going to read to you firstly we have the big concern about noise pollution residents are very worried about the anti-social noise that will come from this proposal which would disturb our bright to peaceful enjoyment in our homes we already experience excessive noise daily during every school day during the evenings and at weekends when this pitch is in use and this proposal would dramatically increase that secondly a lack of data there is uncertainty about future noise and light pollution levels how have current noise levels been evaluated for this application and what measures will be taken to monitor the noise levels to ensure compliance with legal standards next illumination times residents oppose the proposed illumination times if the proposal was to go forward reducing operating times for the lights would be essential and we would request clear documentation on those changes the school starts generating intrusive noise from 8 30 on weekdays and 9 a.m at weekends your this proposal would mean that residents have to tolerate noise up to 12 and a half hours a day during the week and seven hours a day at weekends there is no volume control or switch off button when there is noise on the pitch and 22 people are running around the only way to control that would be to reduce the hours the lights would be on next light pollution flood lights will be intrusive to our property and our way of life with light spillage in our back lanes gardens and homes the lighting is shown to some extent to mitigate light pollution but as we know there will be still still be light spillage bright light and intrusive green glow from the pitch generating pollution given post proximity of our homes how can this be acceptable lastly community engagement many residents feel sidelined by the school what measures will the school take to include resident views if the proposal moves forward such as joint review groups or site visits we understand that both the school and the sports club would be operating on this site this is a community school in the residential area and dual use of the site in this way would cause excessive disturbance in conclusion the majority of residents firmly oppose the proposed flood lights due to significant concerns about noise pollution insufficient data current future impacts and intrusive light spillage we urge the committee and the school to address these concerns thoughtfully before any decisions are made residents deserve to have their voices heard and considered in this important matter in our daily lives thank you thank you uh first of all listen the glove could you say exactly where you live i live in richway avenue sorry one of the houses at one of the end of the pitches on the left or the pitch can we point out is that your unit probably close to the the end of the penalty area on the goal mouth on the left just about there okay and you're talking very much about noise which we we do appreciate but how much noise are you hearing at the moment up until four o'clock every day from the pitch and well from the pitch on school grounds we obviously hear um when the kids are out on morning breaks when they're out at lunch break um they're out playing running around so we put up with that because we live near a school and we appreciate that is that is that on the pitch or is that just general that's on the pitch and in the grounds when the kids come out of breaks and then after school we can hear kids running around doing things and then i think up to three days during the week the pitch is in use in the evenings during the summer and sometimes that is quite excessive but the worst of it is at the weekends on a saturday and sunday morning in in summer literally we're not able to open our windows are going to the garden because there is screaming and shouting and quite a foul language sometimes which we've complained for school and schools plus about several times right yeah i mean i hope that school might have might discuss that with you i mean clearly that is a nuisance but of course that will continue whether or not there are floodlights there well yes the only time we get the really uh a graceful of peace from that is during winter when it's pitch black and it's peace and quiet and we can sit back and enjoy it if these lights come in we'll literally have this going up to every single day of the year okay thank you any other questions yes council conway sorry do you know what the distance is from the end of your house until the beginning from the end of our garden to the actual pitch of the fencing is probably i would say roughly about 20 to 25 meters thank you no oh Councillor Roberts um just funny are you aware the school it is is or has planted trees kind of first small kind of trees at the top end certainly the top end i didn't see further down at the top end where it's next to the school premises i think which when those trees grow up they will provide shelter from noise and light coming from those pitches well i don't i don't really think that would excessively or reduce any noise or whatever because it's an open area it's a it's the size of a full football pitch and it's open all the way around i don't think that would reduce noise much in my opinion but the trees are on their fence line so as they as they grow up they will provide a barrier i don't think they'll provide a barrier with 22 grown men or teenagers running around playing a football match we're literally in our house we can stand in the bedroom and even with windows closed sometimes the noise is excessive and unbearable even with windows closed at the weekend okay thank you the picture we've been shown of what the site will look like with lights shows the light is only on the football pitch it's based on your speech and the paper here you disagree with that yes what that's based on well because obviously you will get a green glow from the lights going onto the pitch you'll get a green glow flowing in the atmosphere in the in the area thank you i think that's all the questions thank you very much and now we've got emma godley speaking in support of the application thank you thanks for having me thank you and again your microphone is on already you'll have if you introduce yourself then you have three minutes to speak and you'll be given a warning when's one minute left thank you thanks for having me today um unlike most the majority of those who have objected to this application i live on day land and i back on directly to the asbro pitch i moved to that location with an 11 month old baby and an eight-year-old child was i concerned about the noise and the profanity coming from the school yes of course absolutely i was however other redeeming factors outweighed that and i chose to move to my home behind the school despite those concerns nine years later and now with the nine nine and 17 year old having been through the toddler young and now older child and teenage stages we are a family who spends a lot of time outside and in our garden have my worries been justified no absolutely not yes there is occasional profanity however i emphasize the word occasional you do expect that with humans they swear sometimes the sounds of children playing or should i say teenagers playing of kids football clubs at the weekend of the occasional adults who already use the astro weeknights sometimes in the dark are joyous happy and enthusiastic sounds it sounds of adults teenagers and children who are passionate about kicking a ball around and burning off some energy while keeping both physical and mental health engaged these sounds are delightful they're not overly loud just a happy healthy healthy cheerful hum with regards to potential overspill light i don't believe that i it will have negative impact on my own home or garden nor that of my behind the astro neighbors many of whom are also supportive of this application however have not necessarily made a supportive notion on their application i welcome increased use of the facilities into the evening hours and strongly believe that amateur and social athletes will only add as a security deterrent helping to keep our home safe to be completely transparent as well as being a direct neighbor to the astro i also work at the school and i'm a parent of a year 13 student at east barnet and a year five pupil who probably will choose east barnet as his secondary choice east barnet school has a fantastic p.e department who are passionate about engaging our children in sport and activity i for sure fully support that drive and i trust that the committee today will see that the benefits to our community far outweigh the worries that some people may have worries much like my own nine years ago when i moved to my home on dane land that will prove to be unjust thanks for listening to me thank you i mean could you as well point out exactly where you live on the plan yeah so i'm i'm 80 day land if you see the astro on the right hand side i am the building that runs directly parallel to the top to the north side of the astro yeah pretty much in that circle at the bottom of your circle that you're making that's it that's me and my back fence is about four to five meters from the astro fence so your yes your house and your gardens are quite close to it very close yeah okay thank you any other questions counselor roberts just want to establish from what you said you don't find it disruptive at the present time not at all i think it's a lovely sound kids playing and adults went the pitch sometimes in the evenings it even that it's a lovely sound just men women kids having fun running around they're they're playing sport they're not they're trying to vandalize anything or they're not taking drugs or drinking i personally don't think so i've had a good look at the plans and the lights i'm familiar with football pitches i go to a few of them myself with my nine-year-old boy the lights are very focused there's barnet gate barnet gate astro 4g pitch on barnet gate lane and those floodlights are very focused there's no overspill onto the surrounding area i don't you know i will see the lights from my house but i don't believe that they're going to be coming into my territory in any in any sense of that do you any other no i mean i uh yeah scout's mechanic sorry um due to the nature of of the incline so um the incline is from the school falling away to the pitches yeah so there's a difference in height level yeah how do you think the the lights will affect your property because you're at the you're at the lowest end yeah well i guess that puts them more in my highline than people who are at a higher end but i don't think that it's going to affect my mental health or anyone in my household or in my neighboring houses i think we'll see them just like we can see excuse me just like we can see the the domestic lights on the other side of the astro now of people who live on ridgeway we can see their lights i'll be able to see these lights they'll just be a little bit closer and maybe taller but i don't feel like that should override the opportunity for more people in the community to look after themselves thank you any other questions the speaker no thank you very much thank you and then we have claire blondon who's down here is the agent yes is there a representative from the school yeah we've got claire blondon's name down here but if you can introduce yourself and then again you're 15 minutes sorry five minutes three minutes to speak hello i'm helen chamberlain i'm the school business leader at the school the school wish to request planning permission for the installation of floodlights to enhance the use of our facilities for both our students and the wider community the main driver is that they will enable an extended enrichment offer for students throughout the year increasing their physical and mental well-being students well-being is one of our top priorities and unfortunately many of our sports clubs have to be curtailed in the winter months because of the poor light limiting the free local and vital student enrichment activities that are accessible to all in 2020 the government invested in a national drive to encourage schools to open up their facilities for the benefits of communities and to enable schools to extend their facilities to sports and activity clubs also a condition of the redevelopment of this site in 2010 from sport england was that the school commit to making our facilities available to our local community we are a community school at all the outdoor clubs we currently let our facilities to our community groups offering sports activities to young people and adults the installation of floodlights would also enable the school to generate much further much needed funding to help with the upkeep and investment for the replacement of the astroturf which will in turn enhance the education and facilities available to our students the school building is now over 10 years old and we find that we need to update many of the facilities a priority being the astroturf prior to the application for floodlights the school is proud to say that it is not aware of receiving any complaints in respect of lettings related noise or other nuisance any complaints that we've received since the floodlight consultation have been investigated fully the school however acknowledges the issues raised by the local residents since we proposed this initiative an ecological survey has been carried out and as stated in the committee report any issues no the spill of light are mitigated through measures referenced in the lighting detail with regard to noise since opening the site in 2010 the school has had lettings averaging three nights a week during the summer months and during the day at weekends as per the application the school intends the use of floodlights for lettings for no more than three evenings a week no later than 9 p.m the school feel that measures taken together with restrictions on the timing of lettings are overall effective in ensuring that noise noise is not excessive we have a large car park which is available for use by lettings avoiding congestion and minimizing associated traffic noise the mitigation method measures as well as restrictive hours of use are considered to have an acceptable impact regarding lighting and ecology as confirmed by lighting and ecology officers noise impacts are considered to be adequately mitigated by the restrictive opening hours and would not lead to subsequent infrastructure impacts such as traffic and parking stress and would enable the use of the pitch in the winter months in line with existing youth youth the benefits to the school would be enormous thank you thank you um can i just confirm that the times of this we've got here that the flag lights will not be certainly lit after 9 p.m on weekdays and 4 p.m on weekends that's correct so i mean currently you know we're just past the mid-summer and evenings are starting to get but but currently how much are they used during those times during the times that would be affected by floodlights so at the moment we have lettings during the summer up to around three evenings a week a couple of them are no later than eight o'clock and then we do have football letting on a saturday morning into the afternoon so this might extend it to winter months but overall the impact you fear is that it's not going to be any greater than it is now no it will just get extended into the winter months so we're not we're not intending to extend the number of lettings that we currently have in the summer into the winter because we we want to ensure that we're supportive of residents and want to ensure that we're minimizing the impact as far as possible yeah i mean i asked this because clearly clearly we can't do anything particularly about the noise no that's not under planning but it's whether the installation of these floodlights will it will increase that nuisance um with regard to the nuisance that we've heard from from the ejector and there there are 45 ejectors i think saying the same kind of thing what kind of relationship do you have with local people they can come and complain and you'll take their concerns address concerns yes i mean as i've said in my um speech any um complaint that we've had has been fully investigated so there was a particular resident who was concerned and we've had a number of meetings with her the lettings company that we employ to kind of look after our lettings went around there on a saturday morning to kind of measure the noise the deputy head teacher who's been on site when there's been complaints has been down and we haven't found it to be excessive but obviously she's concerned and we've done as much as we can to kind of support that but as i said that that that those complaints came after we put our application in for the floodlights we hadn't received those complaints prior to that and we haven't had any change since really we opened in 2010 in terms of the number of lettings that we have during the summer and clearly we have a number of people in support as well as we've heard so yep thank you very much other questions counselor calick thank you um when we visited the school to to to see the site and to see the effect you would have on the neighborhood you and you erected large netting at both ends to stop walls going into people's gardens to alleviate their concerns should in the future there be major concerns of like could you put blackout screens on the other sides of the curtain but potentially if there are concerns and it's something that we can look at i mean as i as i explained when when you came this morning we are concerned about the neighbors we had an issue where the balls and it wasn't through lettings it was the student as they were playing football were going into one of the neighbors um gardens and was causing her distress so at our expense we arranged to have that netting put up so we're very responsive we want to do as much as we can but at the same time we want to ensure that our students are getting the best um offer that we can we can give them questions counselor roberts again on on the site visit just confirming there were some quite substantial tree plantations there which in in the fullness of time not not next year but but moving forward will provide protection from the light falling on the rear gardens yes absolutely yes and they were there planted for that purpose by the school yes all right thank you okay if there's no further questions thank you very much thank you any questions to the officers no otherwise we'll go straight to the vote then um the officers are recommending approval of this item almost in favor of approval that's all so this item has been approved and we move on now to the next item which is 21 Hampstead gardens thank you chair this application relates to 21 Hampstead gardens the conversion of an existing dwelling into three flats including part single part two-story extensions roof extension and other alterations to the roof and roof lights and associated amenity space refuse and cycle storage the extensions themselves have the benefit of a separate permission and as we saw on site this morning are currently being built on site that's the location plan the property is at the end of a cul-de-sac backing um onto hoop lane cemetery to the east so this is the that's the end property here this is the cemetery some site photographs um so that's the existing side access way to the onto the next the cemetery the front elevation this is the rear elevation so this is the boundary line here so this is a small extension at the neighboring property at ground floor level and this current existing two-story outrigger the existing elevations this is sorry this is the property here so that's existing and these are the existing side elevation the existing floor plans ground floor plan and the existing garden first floor plan and the roof sections these are the approved elevations for the extensions that are currently being built so this is the property here so this is the rear the that existing outrigger has been extended sideways coming no further rearward but to the side so main extension here two-story small dormer in the roof that's the approved roof plan so the proposed elevations are essentially the same at the rear and this is the front this is the extension here so the first floor is extended partly over the ground floor but retaining this passageway for access to the rear the proposed side elevation the dormer window which would overlook the cemetery the floor plans showing a family-sized five three-bed five-person unit at ground floor they'd have their own private garden here and the remaining garden is for allocated for the other two flats access down this side passageway there's no car parking existing or proposed on the front here and that would be the remain these are the bike stores and refuse areas which could be positioned on this part of the site you'll see in the recommendation that there is a proposal to have a legal agreement to restrict future occupiers from having car parking residents car parking permits within the cpz these are the proposed upper floor plans so there's a two-bed unit on the first floor and then a split level one-bed unit over this part of the first floor and within the loft the proposed roof plan and sections which show adequate head heights for all floors to provide decent amenity for the future occupiers so the main considerations are that the works with the exception of roof lights and the subdivision of the garden all have planning permission by virtue of a house extension application the application is compliant with the council's emerging and adopted policies in relation to flat conversions and officers consider it's acceptable in terms of the impact on the character of the property has set out in the report highways raised no objections subject to these 106 agreements restrict parking permits and approval is recommended thank you thank you we have two speakers on this item karin yet brand and atul monger either both of you there doesn't matter which order which one you wish to speak in can i is that my case uh yes you're mr monger yes thank you please do if you can take a seat um if you can introduce yourself and then you'll have three minutes to speak you'll be given a warning when you have one minute left sure thank you okay um i speak here on behalf of all the residents of the cul-de-sac i own number 17 which is part of the mid-terrace that's been impacted by this you will note that 18 of us had objected to this initially when the first allocation came up and when the delegated report of 14 january or 14 june was put up it simply referenced a part single part two story and all the references to three apartment blocks was taken away which appears to have been misleading at best and seems to have led people to believe that it is now just two apartments rather than three which is highly objectionable i think more importantly the proposal for conversion into family dwellings but in the absence of adequate parking very clearly does not encourage families to either own or rent such apartments and as we've seen in the houses that have been converted it clearly thanks to the in the creation of multiple kitchens and multiple bathrooms results in single occupants per whom becoming the predominant dwellers of of such conversions and it's fair to say that 1069 finchley road which has converted into apartment blocks this is the former police station which was converted and has no parking permission has had a lot of problem actually selling those apartments moving on based on the usage of the space between the cemetery wall and the current wall of the house of the terrace there is clearly if car parking is permitted there is clearly no possibility of a one meter space for people to pass through in case of an emergency leave aside even under normal circumstances to me and to the rest of us deciding on that road the reference to putting any kind of cycle parking is beyond bemusing because no no no house on the road that really has any cycle parking so it is really clearly likely to be misleading the conversion of other houses on the road should not be seen as a precedence because like i said it's used for purposes other than actually families being there and like i said the key thing for us is that the turning on that road the radius on the road for turning absolutely does not permit any extension on the side because it will only come at the expense of the current parking areas parking based on the road which defeats the entire purpose of actually not allowing additional parking for this house so i just struggle to understand how this complies with the standards okay thank you i mean with regards to parking there is a condition that occupiers of these flats would not be able to obtain a parking permit so that addresses the parking i would just like to clarify that the parking on that road is not restricted for all the 24 hours which means that after 6 30 p.m in the evening and before 9 30 in the morning there is no stoppage on anyone parking on that road this is very likely to encourage people to park on the road at the expense of existing residents and those that have cars on that road um yes i mean that this is aims that they're unlikely to be able to afford to to buy a car because they'll just park it during the day but that that is there that ameliorates that somewhat any other questions no we have no other questions for you thank you very much thank you and then we have the culling diasporan thank you and and again if you can introduce yourself then you have three minutes to speak yeah i'll try to be quick i wrote few words just to thank you not forget so i'm a house owner from the from dingwell gardens the parallel street and i've been living there for 18 years in the last few years we've been experiencing serious parking issues since the conversion of several houses on our street into two or three flats and hamster gardens became the only place for us to park our one car on most days also residents from neighboring streets are coming to park on our street as they have parking problems this is a consistent problem throughout the day and not only at night when the restrictions are not there so because we it's parking permits only until six six o'clock and then afterwards like the gentleman said anyone can park there on top of that bonnet council decided without consulting the resident to allocate two parking spaces for electric cars on all our small streets these are very small streets around us which means again less parking spaces for residents these are all small streets and the parking is very limited as it is increasing the numbers of homes will make it even harder for all of us and bear in mind that every household each household is allowed to have two parking permit permits and converting houses into flats in these small streets just means less car less parking and more stress for us we had few issues with neighbors over parking because they have three cars in one flat we have one car in a house and we own a house and we can't park our one house because they have three cars it's just it makes it very hard for all of us these are very very small streets and it's just making it very hard for all of us thank you okay thank you as i as i said to mr monger there is a condition that people who occupy these flats will not be able to have parking permits so if it's a single family house at the moment they can have two permits they won't be they won't be able to have any so there won't be four more permits will be generally i think converting flats into houses into flats on these small streets it's it's a problem yes no except that that is everywhere parking is problem everywhere so any other questions thank you thank you very much now we have the is the agent here i have your name is danielle sentier that's correct thank you chair thank you again if you can choose yourself you have three minutes to speak and give you an order when you have one minute left perfect thank you very much um good evening everyone and thank you for the opportunity to speak my name is danielle sentier um i'm a chartered member of the rtpi and the agent for the planning application um as you will have seen when you went out on site today um there are a number of householder extensions that have been recently consented and have been constructed or in the process of being constructed at the property um one of these is the the two story side extension which already looks to change the relationship between the property and the boundary particularly overlooking the um the cemetery the point about the turning circle is an interesting one because actually there is no sort of legal right over that land to be able to use it as a turning circle and the proposed two-story extension which is under construction at the moment is already going to change that ability to be able to use it for that purpose but what we spoke about earlier is in relation to the bin and bike stores if there's concerns around the location specifically of that there's a planning condition as well that if there's a condition that would allow us to move that or relocate that subject to planning conditions which could be assessed by officers at a later stage if there was a concern in relation to that with regards to turning of vehicles at the end of the road um i appreciate the concerns that have been raised by um by the objectors and the people that live on the road as been quite rightly pointed out by the chair the situation with the house as existing is it's entitled to two parking permits on the road the three flats as proposed would be entitled to no parking permits on the road at all so it would actually remove two of the permit holders from the road by way of this proposal if this were to be approved this evening so we hope that that would make the parking situation significantly better in relation to the policy position for this application your new policy ho u3 it specifically states that the council will optimize the potential for housing delivery through residential conversion and redevelopment of larger family homes if you go into that policy this thank you this site meets all of those criteria in terms of its location is its public accessibility transport rating as well so i find it hard to see that your council couldn't provide any more support for this type of subdivision of properties as it meets all of those identified criteria we're also looking to re-provide a three-bedroom property on the ground floor with a two-bedroom on the first floor and then a one-bedroom duplex in the loft so a real good mix of accommodation in this location which is also something that your local plan is seeking to provide the housing is sustainably located and will make optimum use of the site which was vacant for 10 years before it was purchased by my client so we don't want to end up in that situation for much longer the public right of access as well has been maintained so that we can we can ensure that that will continue to benefit the local residents you can see that that's been done through the inclusion of the archway which has already been built on site so i hope that that clarifies all of the points that have been raised but please let me know if you've got any other queries thank you thank you could i just ask do you know um how many other houses in that street are converted to flats to the best of my knowledge there are none that have been given planning permission explicitly however i'm aware that numbers five one five six and seven appear to have council tax records as though they have been perhaps converted earlier you know in the past so those properties appear to have been converted although albeit there was no planning permission explicitly for that purpose those are converted into two flats this is three i believe so i believe they're converted into two flats so three flats is rather larger than any others for that for that quite i mean the properties are all quite different along this road as well in terms of the size that's available to them um so there is enough you know there's more than enough space to be able to get a three bed a two bed and a one bed and all of them are all of them are exceeding the national space standards as well we've not made these small flats they are they're generously sized flats in accordance with the new london plan best practice guidance so we've made sure that they're suitable size so there is enough size there is enough square footage in this property to accommodate the the three flats that are proposed okay any other questions council roberts i just wanted to clarify it will be made clear to the occupants as when they're moving they have no parking rights there absolutely it would need to be so for anyone that was renting or purchasing these properties it would be marketed as such that there were no there was no ability to be able to gain a parking permit as part of their as part of their purchase or their rental so the previous speaker the objectors who very largely spoken about parking has been their concerns yeah of course as far as you're concerned that will not arise because there will be no parking spacing allocated with those properties there's no parking there's no permits allocated to those properties i'm aware of what what the uh objectors have mentioned in terms of the timings of the permits but they're even permitted at the weekend so how feasible is it that you're going to keep getting up and moving your car every time there's a restrict and where are you going to put it so i just i think if you are reliant on a car and you know that you can't get a permit in this location this probably isn't the location for you to be honest but there's plenty of people that are going to make use of the station the cycle parking that's available you know we're trying to shift towards more sustainable methods of transport i think there's plenty of people that would love to live in a location like this but that don't necessarily need to rely on a private car there's also a number of car club bays located nearby as well which people can rely on the other questions no thank you very much thank you shall i turn this off thank you any comments or questions for the officers yes can i just um ask about the amenity space um and uh how much space there is if if there are three flats on that side so the ground floor flat has this area here which i cannot read basically the the whole garden at the moment is about it's about eight by eight so 64 square meters um so i think the the ground floor probably has slightly under 30 square meters and the upper two floors flats have this area at the back here um which obviously is going to be well another third again over the size of the ground floor flat so it more than meets the standard for flats uh thank you and also that that diagram seems to suggest that the pavement is going to change which i assume it probably won't be because um at the moment as they were saying yes so this is the um that's the front the front wall of the properties this is the pavement if i just go back to the photograph the people have mentioned the turning circle um so as we saw on site this is the road and then it's a very small turning circle there's one on this side here and then you can see the double yellow line here that will stay the same so that won't change no so they can't do any develop over that part so the development has to take place back within the curtilage of the property um and then there was an equivalent double yellow line on the other opposite side on the other end property so it is a small turning circle but there is a slight area there that people can use to turn around okay thank you yeah i'd like to ask can you can you just clarify our policy for maintaining single family occupancy of houses and if if they are converted into flats um the the number of flats that each property should have so wonder you know two flats may be sufficient three flats may be too much in this property the emerging policy which is the one we need to go on really given it's kind of in a very quite advanced stage now is set out in the report to try and secure family housing and protect family housing there's a minimum size for a house that's to be converted so if it's less than 135 square meters we won't grant planning commission for flat conversion that's not the case in this with this one has to be within a p-tail of three or more which this one is or it has to be close to a town center but this is in a p-tail three area so that complies with the policy um all conversion applications have to provide a three-bed five person unit which this one does on the ground floor and then all other units should be 61 square meters and in this case they both are 61 or more square meters so they do meet the floor size criteria for the new policy the three flats here comply with our it complies with the new policy yes thank you any other questions comments and we'll go to the vote the offices are recommending approval all those in favor and against one not voting you're not one not voting so that application is approved and we move on to the next item which is Marwood court and Gradyton road this is an outline application to construct a third floor level to provide two one-bed flats on the top of an existing flat roof block also provision of off-street parking refuse recycling cycle storage for the whole block and new front access gates all items are to be considered as part of the outline except for landscaping which is the reserved matter so this is the site here at the end of Gradyton road off Ballard's lane opposite Victoria Park in Finchley central this is the block here as you saw on site the other side of the road is all housing terraced housing but this side of the road originally was all workshops and factories although there has been some residential development over more recent years this is the aerial photograph so that's the block here excuse me showing the relationship with the houses opposite the adjoining commercial buildings and the relationship with the properties here in Wentworth avenue and these properties down here are Wentworth park and that's the view from the other side photograph looking down Gunnison avenue so the site is on the left at the bottom down here that's the front elevation showing the existing commercial use next door so that's the building three floors with a flat roof and this shows the boundary with the rear of the gardens in Wentworth avenue and that's the view the other side so these are the existing floor plans the same on each floor and that's the existing elevations the existing proposed site plan so currently there's no bin store the bins were just left in sort this front area there is parking area at the back which but there's no formal layout for the car parking and this is a communal garden area which serves all the flats the proposal is to provide a gate here access into the sites to formalize the car parking sorry the cycle parking and the refuse storage within the front garden for all the flats and then to formalize car parking at the back here so the communal space here will be largely unchanged in terms of the garden area for the residents so that's the proposed rear and side so essentially a new crown roof is going to be formed on the top this is the side elevation and the rear elevation dormer windows in all the elevations here front and that's the front and side elevation so this is the one that you would see from the street the windows on this side here which will be the ones facing Wentworth avenue gardens are small kitchen windows and will be obscure glazed to prevent overlooking this is the proposed third floor showing two one-bed flats layout and the long section here so this is the the proposed so that's obviously the approximately existing height this is the new height it's only one and a half meters higher to the ridge than the existing and that's the Wentworth house so there it is slightly lower level here but this shows the distance of 30 meters 30 meter deep gardens to the properties in Wentworth and as i said the windows the dorm windows on this side here are obscure glazed to avoid overlooking nothing further to add thank you thank you we have one object mr k thank you mr k i'd like to confirm we have received your emails as well with your concerns and we have had a look at those uh again if you can put you put put the microphone on there's a button with the face on it you can see that um it's got a face on it near the bottom that's picture with the face okay three minutes to speak and you'll be given a warning when you have one minute left thank you very much indeed and good evening members um i'm actually here representing uh the neighbors so this my role is as an advocate on behalf of mr lester and the other neighbors who are here this evening um my name is danny k i'm a child surveyor and a member of the town and country planning association amongst other things i was born in barnet i've lived in barnet i've worked in barnet and i care about barnet i've been working in housing developments and urban regeneration for over 25 years i've worked on over 500 development regeneration projects including for seven years as the development director for a leading london housing association i now run a consultancy business aimed at promoting and delivering sustainable housing development as such i normally find myself advocating for new homes however this is a very this is a very rare example of the of the reverse i've been fully briefed by mr lester mr lester and neighbors and indeed have supported mark and others in in their objections barnet rightfully has an excellent track record of delivering high quality housing and indeed strong plans for significant new supply thousands of homes in key areas in other areas in barnet it is in this overall context that i believe this specific proposal is unnecessary inappropriate and is a rare example of a mistaken in my opinion application interpretation of barnet's own housing design and planning policies in particular i should draw your attention to the specific explicit wording contained in your 2016 supplementary planning document which is called the residential design guide proposals for new quotes proposals for new residential development should respond to the distinctive local building forms and patterns of development and respect scale mass and heights of the surrounding physical context i i don't believe this is the case the pre-existing building which no one can do anything about is an aberration predated the spd an extra story would definitely be out of keeping even if partly pitched in terms of scale and typology moreover the policy wording was designed to arrest further inappropriate additions of this data and i represent it do not demur from the housing needs yet in terms of the balance of harm the impact on all the neighbors of this additional story is out of keeping and uh how long do i have okay if i may i'd like to pass around this uh this photograph and just take issue with one of the slides that was up we're showing a tree um masking the uh the new build in fact this the reality of the situation is as you can see here effectively this area will be uh which is developed and will have a significant impact on the local character and suburban nature as defined in your own policies thank you thank you thank you questions um what i'd like to ask with with regard to that picture you showed from a garden so the current top floor is already overlooking the garden so yes this is the existing so other concerns is it's going to make it worse or it's going to make it worse significantly in what way if the garden so in terms of the overbearing and the over and the sense of being overlooked in the overbearing nature the impact on the gardens in in the area so if this is the distance the distance both between the building and the boundary and the building in the house i pick a pardon the distance between the building and the edge of the garden and the building of the house yes far exceed um the the minimum that should be i'm sorry i don't understand your point um the distance between between this building and the and the boundary of the garden and the garden yeah and more distance between that and the house yeah i understand and the breath of the committee report does make reference to distance but that is only one element there are a number of other policy references in your local plan in your emergent local plan in the sbt which actually counter that just a distance argument and i could quote from your own policies and i would i'm raising this because i do genuinely believe that this is inappropriate and will have an impact on the neighbors okay so but really the concern is just overlooking of garden the concern is overlooking the overbearing nature of the scheme the impact on the privacy or the sense of privacy and how that will affect the enjoyment of the gardens and the spaces uh that the neighbors currently enjoy the the pre-existing situation is not great but it is what it is you can't change that an additional story will have a material impact in terms of the sense of enjoyment and overlooking thank you uh castle barnes so and so if you get are you just representing people from wentworth avenue correct okay all right okay thank you okay thank you very much thank you uh and then we have the agent to henry i believe again you know you know how this works by now if you can introduce yourself to us then you have three minutes thank you chair and members um my name is joe henry and i'm the agent acting for the application like the speaking object i was born in barnet work in barnet live in barnet and care about barnet the application has been referred to this committee by council rich because he was concerned about a possible overlooking of gardens in wentworth avenue i did email council rich and he explained the windows facing the rear gardens of the properties in wentworth avenue are proposed to be obscure glazed to ensure no overlooking he kindly responded and said he did discuss the matter of local residents but the remain of the view that an extra floor impinges on their gardens as stated in your office report the proposed two proposed windows facing the rear gardens at wentworth avenue will be obscure glazed meaning there will be no overlooking i would also draw your attention to suggested planning condition number 10 which requires these windows to be obscure glass only and shall be permanently retained as such thereafter in respect of the impact the proposal has on the character and appearance of the area and the building itself i would comment as follows the application site forms part of a street which has a very mixed character of residential and commercial properties with varying designs massing and heights the proposal provides a crown roof extension on existing flat roof the existing flat roof block style building has limited architectural merit almost every other building within the road and indeed beyond in in wentworth avenue has a pitch roof the introduction of a pitch roof would significantly improve the design form of the existing building overall contributing positively to the character and appearance of the building and the locality it's also important to note the proposal seeks to provide two additional dwellings which will contribute to addressing the housing crisis something on which the new government has prioritized as their top priority thank you for listening i'll be happy to answer any questions you may have thank you any questions no it looks like you explained your style quite well thank you very much any comments or questions the officers Councillor Callick the existing height of the building includes a balustrade how much will the additional height how much additional height will be added by adding the pictures yeah this element here um is kind of a parapet around the existing flat roof so the additional height is about one and a half meters because part of that will be taken away to provide the the pitch so the oval ridge is not a full three meter high new additional floor it's um about one and a half meters higher to the top of the ridge thank you any further questions no then we should go to the vote the officers are recommending this for approval all those in favor of approval that's all so this application is approved thank you and we move on to the next one now which is forward side avenue good evening councillors this next application is forward side avenue concerning the demolition of the existing dwelling on site and the erection of a new building with the basement level to create six new self-contained flats this is the location plan of the site um you can see all right here's an aerial view um to the left there's a yellow star indicating the site and just to give you the context of the scheme the far right of the image is the finchley high road which is in the north eventually town center this is some photos aerial views you can see the opposite side of the applicant site has a variety of different buildings and building forms of flat roofs whereas the side that the applicant site is on is a more traditional um house form these are the existing elevations and the existing floor plans the proposed front and rear elevations so it's a two-story building with a crown roof form and at the bottom is a street scene image of how the building will appear amongst the neighbors side elevation the south side elevation facing the properties on woodside park road and the north side elevation facing number six woodside avenue section drawing there just illustrates the basement level and the light wells that are proposed there'll be a lower ground floor across lower ground and ground there'll be three duplex units so these are the ground floor units each of these units benefit from either a light well or a private rear garden amenity space two units at the first floor and one unit within the roof level here's the proposed site layout plan showing five parking spaces within the driveway at the front and a large communal garden at the rear so in summary officers have assessed that the principle of the conversion of the existing house and its redevelopment to be compliant with policy and acceptable the scheme would provide a good range of larger family-sized units with a good standard on accommodation and as to parking five parking spaces are proposed on site which has been again assessed to be compliant with policy the application is recommended for approval subject to conditions thank you we have four people listed of objectives we can only hear two so i don't know who is who is here now who would like to speak if you agreed which two are going to speak uh if you can turn the microphone on what's your name this is a picture of the face a picture of the face that's it that's it got it okay so are you on your neighbors right first of all my own are we just just who you are my name's rizwan koreshi sorry rizwan koreshi and i'm the resident of 56 woodside park road right yes thank you thank you if you can uh introduce yourself you have three minutes to speak you'll be given a warning when you have one minute left okay um my first point is that my understanding of the law is that it's got a built-in democratic factor every resident in the area has objected to this residence so i expect the committee based on this democratic principle to reject this development the other point i'd like to raise is from my point of view this application is invalid because it was wrongly validated by the planning department first of all they didn't have any scale or scale bar on their drawings secondly uh the site plan of the area is from 2016 it isn't the current uh site plan for the area so i failed to see with all these wrong informations how the planning department ever got to make that decision that or recommend approval for this scheme the other thing is in my view this contravenes council's own policies first of all i applied for planning application to my property which would have seen a first floor extension which was rejected i have no quarrel with that it was rejected that it was overbearing and it wasn't in keeping with the pattern of development on that street so this extension on four woodside avenue is going to result in a much much larger bulking than my extension was so i failed to see how the council can recommend uh this has been compliant with its own policies because they rejected mine this in effect is like adding a three-story extension to the existing property and it is huge uh that's my first point uh it's going to disrupt the development pattern of the street and if this application is allowed to carry on then what's to prevent every other uh house in that street becoming six flats i felt yeah a precedence will be set that's my thank you any questions no i think yes sorry to hear about your own problems with getting um i've got no problems with that i just i just well you brought it up so i just thought i thought i'd just ask you were you uh requesting to having a first for extension at the back of your property that's right yeah so that does differ to this this is on the side of the property no no no if you look at the development using the existing buildings as standard then the resulting bulk is a six meter three-story extension if you see what i mean no i don't see what you mean but um i have looked at the plans yeah it's uh it's uh it's outward projection is huge to the rear of the property on one floor no on three floors so we'll ask offices to clarify that with the planning offices any other questions no thank you very much um that so who else we've got three other names who else is speaking here just clarify that's okay with the other name and objectives that's no one else hoping to speak yes that's fine thank you and you you are i'll introduce myself good evening my name is mr chandok all right thank you yes i've lived in 12 oopside avenue since 1978 okay i'm just going to clarify you have three minutes to speak you'll be given a warning when you have one minute left fine thank you so basically i've lived in woodside avenue for 46 years in 1978 with my wife and i had two kids and then the third one was born in that house and there are six houses which are twins they're built by the same developer in 1945 number four six eight ten twelve and fourteen so when we purchased the house in 1978 they all looked like a tree lined detached houses on the right side and some victorian houses on the left hand side which were converted into flats recently one block was made of six flats without parking with 106 agreement and the other was 16 flats i don't know on what grounds they got it everybody objected but what we are finding now is that with this development they are going to change the entire connector of that street instead of detached houses we are going to start getting flats on the right side when we have none on the right side because there are six houses four six eight ten twelve and fourteen i'm number 12 since 1978 and number two excavation of the basement is going to threaten the foundations of all the adjoining houses because 1945 built houses are all having one meter deep foundations i did my own development my house was virtually back was demolished and done in 2002 and we made sure because of the crease at the back we had to go deeper foundations and with this excavation houses number four uh six eight and ten are going to be very badly affected and lastly it will be me as well at number 12 so we will have structural problems including subsidence and cracks in our walls because i've never seen any excavation in woodside avenue where you got a basement being done in the whole of woodside avenue i will ask you to check your planning records and the other question is basically parking is a nuisance now there's no space at all and as the previous applicants have pointed out to your good selves that basically people who even with 106 agreements they will try and use the resident parking spaces which are limited in the area between 6 p.m to 8 a.m in the morning and my only concern is that if i was right the gentleman was explaining there are two flats on the ground floor with basement two on the first floor that makes it four and one in the second floor but you're saying planning for six i don't know how the addition is done is it two two and one or is it two two and two that's my question to the planning officer and the parking should be minimum six to eight cars and i think there is not enough parking in the entire street you can't have two cars passing by parking on the left with single car only i had an accident on 22nd of november 2023 i nearly died my car was written off outside the new block of flats outside number four thank you thank you questions class roberts i'm just trying to understand where you're going are you against flats in principle my objection is basically it will change the character of the street totally already we have lost edwardian edwardian houses with big gardens converted into blocked two blocks of flat ones with six flats with section 106 no parking and the other one got 16 flats eight and eight they are on the corner of woodside park road and woodside avenue i had the accident outside there because the car came from the station and hit me at 50 miles per hour and the guy was prosecuted by the police and i'm waiting for my thing to be sorted on the high court for the injuries i suffered i'm sorry to hear about your accent but we're talking about the developments taking place in in the road you you say no flat should be allowed in that road that's my personal belief because already there's 22 flats down on that corner you can check your records if i'm wrong that was an edwardian house which was knocked down i know jeremy leaves told it and basically there's one block with six flats no parking and the other is 16 facts eight and eight joined together on the corner the planning officer will be best to answer that yeah so i can appreciate you saying that those houses are all the same but looking looking at the report um 16 to 18 woodside avenues that's next to where where you live uh that was allowed on appeal for for being demolished and there is precedent for this um but and and then 42 woodside avenue it's also been approved for conversion to five flats so there are precedents for this and and i know you're going to say that but also also i would say that from the design of this study large and there will be a basement which you have concerns about but otherwise it looks very similar to the the house at the moment so is that really going to affect the the impression of that row of houses number 16 and number 18 don't have any basements if i'm right they did they were not permitted any basement they wanted basement it was rejected on the first time second time they made it without the basement and they are not they are not detached houses so your the basement is the main concern definitely because it's going to affect the foundations of the existing six houses which are joining number four i'm number 12 i'm still four doors away rather than number six mr shah and number eight i think the vaswanis have sold out and somebody else has moved in number 10 the mr george they are very very concerned that's why they did not allow more than two speakers so we decided i would represent the people in woodside avenue and the gentleman my colleague will be representing woodside park road and there's a very strong objection i think there were over 50 objectors for that application and i'm i can't understand it obviously housing is needed but you're destroying the complete character of the street even number 16 and 18 have not started development i think they can't do the funding or something of the sort i know you permitted through the appeal about six or seven flats over there and there are two two properties which are joined together whereas this is a single one and you're permitting six flats which is an over development believe you me you try coming into that street i've been there 46 years and we love that area very very much okay thank you very much no no further questions thank you very much thank you um let me have the the agent the agent here i have garris stockbridge thank you mr stockbridge you have three minutes to speak you've given the warning when you have one minute left thank you good evening my name is garris stockbridge and i'm the agent for the application um we've been working closely with the planning department on this project for just over a year initially starting with pre-application advice which highlighted certain constraints and required amendment this was taken on board in the preparation of the subsequent formal planning application submitted in september 2023 since this time we have been in close contact with the planning department undertaking several rounds of amendments to address points raised during the consultation period and also changes in council policy as a result of this the matting of the proposal has been reduced and the number of units has also been decreased we have noticed several of the objection letters referring to the character of the road and the fact that the flats could affect this however as stated within the planning officer's report this issue was raised within the recent appeal decision at number 16 woodside avenue where the inspector decided that the character of the road had already changed drawing on references to other flooded developments that have been approved and constructed within the nearby area this has been followed up by subsequent planning approvals granted similar developers for similar redevelopment proposals within the road the proposed new building has been carefully designed to respect site constraints providing a stepped design to reduce impact on neighbouring properties the overall height has been set to keep the new building within the established roof line of the street we believe therefore that the scheme provides a high quality development of mixed accommodation sizes it conforms to planning policies and agree with the planning department that the application should be approved thank you thank you i just like to ask about the i mean you've you've commented that as i as i said that there are precedents with this um that the inspector has said that it's not out of character the difference with this one is is the basement yeah and the light well so i wonder if you could comment a little bit about the necessity for that the impact that that might have well the light the light well is set because of the depth of the front garden which is very deep the light well is set behind quite away from the pavement will be largely invisible it has planting around it so visually from the streets it would hardly be noticed the basement adds additional space it'll be built in accordance with building control structural designs and party wall awards which will be required if planning permission is consented thank you any further questions no that's all thank you very much thank you any questions the officers no so i think we're going to just go to the vote on that one the officers are recommending approval all those in favor of approval that's all thank you that application is approved i'll try and get through them all now that we're moving on to russell lane e-charger in russell lane okay so members are advised that this item has a corresponding advert app being heard in conjunction so i'm going to make just one presentation but then there'll be two votes subsequent to the discussion this application relates to the installation of an electric vehicle charging point on russell lane close to the junction with gallants farm road the unit will be situated on the outer edge of the broad pavement fronting the commercial parade servicing the first bay of the corresponding existing on-street parking the proposed unit will be 2.65 meters high and typical of those being rolled out across the borough by jolt in conjunction with the council the proposal will retain 3.5 meters of clear footway in line with the expectations of the tfl streetscape gardens and the disability act and the proposal is considered to be commensurate with the mixed commercial character of the setting and supports the rollout of net zero infrastructure in line with the strategic objectives of the development plan and is therefore recommended for approval thank you uh it's mr white here rub white's an object yes that you rub white right okay uh yeah the projector isn't here then yeah if you'd like to come speak then yeah so yeah you can introduce yourself and then again you'll have three minutes to speak be given a warning when you have one minute there thank you uh good evening councillors and everyone in attendance my name is patrick thomas and i'm the planning manager for jolt charge as you know jolt has been working in partnership with barnet council to deliver affordable on-street charging powered entirely by renewable energy to date we've installed 36 chargers which have delivered two and a half million clean miles to over 2 500 customers most of whom live in barnet the applications before you tonight are the culmination of months of hard work and considered site selection with your officers and stakeholders we are pleased officers have recommended the applications for approval and statutory consultees have raised no objections we would like to thank officers for their thorough report and collaborative working there are many benefits that flow from approving the jolt charger whether environmental social or economic it's worth remembering that electric vehicles benefit every resident whether they drive or not in barnet the car remains the principal mode of travel accounting for approximately 44 of all trips made barnet residents own 142 000 private cars which is the second highest level of car ownership in london approximately 4 000 deaths per annum in london are attributed to air pollution barnet has one of the highest rates with 201 deaths per year as a result in 2010 the whole borough of barnet was designated an air quality management area jolt is the only charging operator that provides a financial incentive offering 15 minutes of free charging equivalent to 30 miles for those without driveways to choose an electric vehicle we understand that electric vehicles and associated charging is new and there is a lot of misinformation out there the simple fact is that all residents will benefit from a greater number of electric vehicles on barnet's roads there are clear economic benefits a recent survey showed that around 80 of jolt customers spend in local shops whilst they are charging boosting the high street and local economies jolt promotes local businesses and charities through free advertising on screens this will be offered to all the businesses along russell lane jolt is already supporting charities and organizations such as the arts depot nor finchley and local independent businesses in temple fortune and mill hill to quote a local business owner in barnet since advertising on jolt screens we've seen a big increase in our business and the numbers through our doors we'd never have been able to afford this sort of advertising their presence is really making a difference barnet has rightly set ambitious carbon reduction targets and with 41 percent of emissions coming from transportation jolts can make a significant contribution towards these targets we hope members agree that the applications before them promote sustainability and green economic growth and can support the officer's recommendation for approval thank you for your time and we'd be happy to answer any questions thank you now i know that so the job charges are being you've identified sites and almost always not all wards in the borough and they're coming piecemeal to this committee at least two of us have had these installed in our wards already with more or less number of objections and concerns so this is another one that that on the face of it seems to have fewer concerns than than those in our in our particular wards so are there any further questions councilor roberts i just want to ask how long does it take to install these things and how disruptive is in terms of cabling and what else needs to be installed with it yeah that's a very good question it's very much down to um uk power networks and where the point of connection is obviously some installations are more straightforward than others where it's where the point of connection is close but i guess we'd hope to you know really do it within a week yeah five five working days um well i think once once again it's dependent on the point of connection obviously there's there's less disruption um for example if you you know don't have to cross a road for example so if it's in the existing pavement line that's that's very straightforward um but in many ways we're dictated to by uk power networks on where we connect to it's not it's not up to us we're unfortunately we get told by uk power networks where we have to connect the questions about a very minor question the this unit will just charge one vehicle is that correct that that's correct just one vehicle double check okay no further questions thank you very much thank you uh any questions to the officers yes kasler conway is it is it with an ev bay only or is it just for the charger uh well the application doesn't consider the designation of the bay understand from previous applications that have come before the committee that that's part of a separate uh some series of discussions with the highway authority to then go around and demarcate the bays um afterwards but it's not part of this planning application as such okay thank you um now there are two applications this one for installing installing the equipment and the other for using it for advertising do we have to take votes on those separately or i mean that they rely on each other we can't we can't if we if we vote for one and not the other then they don't go through we take them separately okay so we will go to the for the first one down here is item 12 which is for the uh no that's the item 13 i think is is should we go for first which is installing the equipment for pre-charging that if that makes sense yeah for the installation so the officers recommend approval those in favor of approval that's all and the other item for use of it for advertising that's and that's approved as well as those two items are approved and we now move on we're doing really well this evening move on to i think the final item torrington court so the final item is torrington court and torrington park in north finchley it's an existing development with three blocks of flats and the proposal is to create five additional flats on the roof two of the blocks will have the existing pitched roof converted to a crown and dorm windows incorporated to provide flats and the larger block will have a whole new floor with a pitched roof added to provide additional flats to that block so this is the site it's not working this is the site here so these two blocks are two stories high at the moment and this one is three that's an aerial view and some site photographs so the side elevations of the two smaller blocks front onto the road block a at the back is the one that's higher but it is set well back from the street frontage and the bottom right shows the rear elevation at the moment and the communal garden area you'll notice this existing external fire escapes those are going to be removed as part of the proposal and the existing flats will be given juliet balconies on the rear elevations uh some more photos those are the existing ground and first floor plans the existing second floor which is only at the moment on the block at the back and the existing elevations showing the relationship with neighbouring properties the property on the left hand side is actually a listed building it's one of three properties that are listed and the existing elevations and sections and again that shows the fire escapes to the rear which are going to be removed so the proposed block plan shows the frontage area which is currently used for sort of haphazard parking there's a block of garages around the back which don't actually form part of this application site and they're not used by residents they're used for storage according to the applicant so the proposal includes the provision of additional parking laid out at the back to serve these new flats the proposed ground and first floors part of the works involves internal alterations to lobbies around the staircase to ensure that the staircase is compliant as an escape stair given the existing external stairs are being removed but that's all internal work that's a new proposed second floor so you've got two flats in each of the sorry two flats on the block at the back at at this level and one flat in each of the two lower blocks at the front and then the additional flatter within the roof space of block a which is the one to the rear so you can see looking at the roof plan there are no dormers facing the neighboring properties at to the sides the dormers for the front blocks are inward facing facing each other and the other block a block a has normal windows within the rear elevation but that is some distance from the rear boundary so there's no concerns over overlooking from those windows that's a more detailed roof plan and the proposed elevations the red outline is the existing building so you can see the increase in height provided to the larger block at the back and then the smaller blocks which are actually not increasing in height they're just increasing in the shape in the shape of the roof which will be slightly increased to create more of a crown roof and some other elevations and that's the location in context within the street so as those two blocks at the front aren't actually increasing in height they're just increasing in terms of the pitch to create the crown roof and the block that is having the increased floor is set well back from the street frontage so the proposal officers consider is is in keeping in in this part of the street the increased height to the rear is not considered to be particularly overbearing given how far it's set back there's no increase in footprint the fenestration changes are acceptable in terms of their appearance and given the relationships of the building to the neighbors and the fact there are no normal windows on the side elevations that would overlook the neighboring gardens there's considered to be no adverse impacts on the neighboring amenities and the application is recommended for approval thank you thank you we have no speakers on this one so i'll ask the agent for the application to come forward thank you if you can turn the microphone on there's a face picture face that's it let's introduce yourself you have five minutes to speak and if you give me a warning when you have one minute left thank you good evening committee my name is Oliver virtual from brooks mary architects i am the architect for this this application the scheme submitted for your consideration is a simple development which represents a sustainable way of delivering housing and optimizing the potential of a previously developed site the current proposal is a result of constructive engagement with your officers which started with a pre-application meeting over a year ago we've worked closely with your officer to make suggested amendments to our design including a reduction in the massing of the proposal to protect the surrounding streetscape and neighboring amenity the revised scheme with its reduced scale and number of units is here tonight with full recommendation for approval from your officer we appreciate that some neighbors have concerns with regard to the application we have a chance to review those applications and acknowledge that some of them are rightly understandable development control worries including privacy overlooking and overshadowing however your officer has exhaustively examined each of these concerns and concluded the impact of the proposal on its immediate surrounding falls within acceptable limits other residents are understandably concerned about noise and disruption caused by the construction works my client is an experienced developer who has successfully undertaken many similar schemes across north london and if the application is successful a construction management plan will be submitted for approval under condition my client's team will continue to engage with residents to constantly ensure that they are consulted and kept informed and works slightly across to um i noticed uh i've heard via by the officer that there was some comments about the removal of fire escape stairs the existing flaws on block a which is the the taller of the blocks is to be adapted to as per the submitted drawings to include protected lobbies with double doors at each entrance to each unit and this will ensure that the main stair of the primary block is a fully compliant fire escape stair with venting windows going forward this solution is much safer for residents than using external staircases which are obviously susceptible to getting wet and therefore slippy thank you in summary the scheme represents a good represents an opportunity to provide five new good quality homes without any long-term harm to the amenity of existing residents the proposed scheme will also give our client the opportunity of enhancing the existing state estate for example through the provision of dedicated waste stores which the building does currently doesn't have secure cycle parking for both new and existing residents as well as enhanced landscaping thank you thank you any questions um i'd just like to ask a little bit more about removing the fire escapes and you've mentioned that so can you confirm um that this this meets fire regulations that what what are the arrangements because only one staircase and one exit for people to escape so um on the large on the larger of the blocks which obviously um poses the most uh danger if you will the um submitted plans have um the addition of an additional lobby to each of the units all over the building so that you uh as you're escaping you go through two doors two sets of doors which prevents smoke from flats getting into that lobby uh which with the stairs in it the stairs then have a um have windows all the way up which vents the smoke out so that that that if that staircase that comes all the way down the building will be a safe way to escape the building um we had we did discuss that the the removal of the removal of the the fire escape stairs with your with your officer and and we originally had them remaining as balconies um we've then because they were not satisfied that was a good solution we've reduced them back to to juliet balconies as i said at the moment they're not they're not um they're not a particularly safe way of escaping from a building okay so you have you have reports from the fire service that this isn't approved um we we we have used you know we're um we we do a lot of this form of development we have um our target obviously will be will be the um compliance with part b of the building regulations at um building control stage what we have designed allows us to fulfill that duty and we will obviously be seeking building control approval when we when we get back i mean clearly you know fire is a major concern absolutely this is a nobody large one but we have had fires in in smaller blocks in bonnet as well so no no this is one thing one of the other comments on the objections was about the removal of trees i think there may have been trees that were removed before that are now going to be replaced i'm not sure if you can comment i can't speak for what's happened um prior to to my involvement in this scheme from from 2021 then there i think there were trees at the front of the front front of the site which i believe were lay land eyes so not particularly high quality you will see on our drawings you can see just up there that at the front of the site we're proposing to bring back some landscaping and i believe your office has conditioned a a full landscaping scheme which which will certainly enhance the area no trees are being removed for this not past this application thank you councillor calick sorry this question is just for my education i was always told to believe that um that leaving windows open where events open fuels fires and yet you're saying it's there to um let the smoke out so i'm a little bit confused on that point so the the the theorem would be that if there was a fire in a flat in the building the additional lobby that we've added to the building would stop that smoke getting into the fire sorry into the staircase beyond and because the staircase has existing had windows that are open all the way up that's that staircase will a be prevented by that lobby from from filling with smoke and if for whatever reason it did any smoke that goes into that staircase will rise up the staircase and straight out the windows on the outside of the building does that make sense uh i i could refer you to to the to the part of them in this with this building would become what's called a small single stair building in the building regulations and it would be compliant with that with that um building regulation that's i mean that that's why we've brought those lobbies into these into these buildings into this building to to fulfill our duty under the building regulations to to ensure that there's a a safe means of escape for these blocks for this block of flats given the exchange that's just occurred about the removal of the escapes and how fire risk continues to be mitigated it might be useful to hear briefly from the officer to clarify that of course the internal matters would be a matter for building regulations but just to reassure members for the record before a decision is taken the officers should briefly clarify yeah any other questions for the yes so if if officers could clarify about when this meets fire regulations for fire escapes with their external fire escapes well obviously we as part of the planning process we don't deal with building regulations so we've been told that the works they're proposing internally will make the internal staircase suitable for being used as an escape staircase by the measures that the agent just talked about so if that is the case and it's then complying with building regulations then it's not a matter that we need to be concerned about and there's no requirement for a fire statement um as per government policy because the building's not it's not 18 meters high so it doesn't need to to go through the formal process of having the fire strategy approved which is different for high-rise buildings four floors is quite high to jump out of the window if you think i'll get it is but in terms of sort of national requirements it has to be an 18 meter high building to require the additional submission of additional statements so chair i was concerned about this also and my my understanding is now that correct me from if i'm wrong um to the planning officer that the escapes having been removed building regulations have satisfied themselves that the internal staircase is sufficient to allow for escape and some of the other documentation is not required i just wanted that noted for um clarity on the record that this has been considered that it's been taken care of elsewhere through building regulations particularly given the removal of those structures and i think that clarification has been given now i think i think the agent said they haven't people don't apply for building control approval until they've got planning permission so but he's obviously if he's experienced he's done these kind of with this work before he's clear i mean if for some reason they do have to change the plan and that has a material change on planning permission they'd obviously need to come back to to vary their planning permission so as far as i understand fire safety is is i think it's dealt with by building ricks yes this particular application okay thank you very much no other comments or concerns we'll go to the vote on this one the officers are recommending approval all those in favor of approval that's all that application is approved thank you very much um now the next meeting is in is there only two weeks i think on wednesday the 9th um so we're proposing site visits on tuesday the 8th if that's suitable colleagues and we'll probably we'll have the virtual briefing on the same day but that's to be confirmed but certainly site visits on the tuesday yes if that's not cancelled that's that's that's yes that's yes that's on the tuesday street yeah yeah all at once okay thank you very much

Transcript

Everybody, thank you for attending. It's seven o'clock now so we're going to start the meeting. I'm Councillor Claire Farrier, the chair of this planning committee, so thank you all for attending and I will now ask members of the committee to introduce themselves and then the planning officers and the legal officer and governance officer. So start with you Councillor Roberts. Do you all hear me sorry? Yeah I thought someone. You don't need that twice. Councillor Richard Barnes. I'm Mark Springthorpe. I'm one of the planning managers. I'm Lesley Feldman, the other planning manager. Jonathan Mills, planning manager, Patrice. Suzanne Yildiz. I'm the legal advisor to committee this evening. Carina Dimitriou, governance officer. All right, thank you. Now we ask that you remain seated during the meeting unless you're coming to the table to address the committee. Please note that the meeting will be recorded and broadcast as allowed for in law and by the council, so by attending either in person or online you may be picked up on recordings. So our recordings are covered by our privacy notice and that can be found on the website bonnet.gov.uk. Now for each application the planning officer will first present the applications, then each speaker will have three minutes to address the committee and the governance officer will inform you when there is one minute left. After that the members of the committee will have the opportunity to ask questions of the speakers and then of the officers and we will then discuss and the committee will determine the application and I will announce the committee's decision after that. So when you come to the table we'll ask you to turn your microphone on which will help you with if you can't see the button to turn it on with and we can only have one microphone on at a time to ensure no feedback. So going on to the agenda now. The minutes of the last meeting and members read that, approve that, five minutes. Absence of members, I think all members of the committee are here this evening. Do any members have any interests to declare? No that's right, dispensations granted by the monitor officer, there are none. An addendum has been published and sent out to all members, I hope you've all seen that and officers will refer to what's in the addendum when they present each item. So we're going to move on to the first proper item on the agenda which is the Thomas Watson Cottage Homes in Leecroft Road in Barnet. I'm going to ask the officers to present that. Good evening councillors, the application for you tonight has come before committee because there's implications on the decision on the public purse. The application is to fell four London plane trees and to reduce two oak trees by around six and five metres. This is the site plan and the protected trees here. This is the protected oak tree one and the protected oak tree is this one here and the protected London plane trees are located within this group here and this group there. This is the aerial view of the site, there's the oak tree. The implicated houses are just these two here, the 11 and 12 Leecroft Road and the London plane trees are located here. This is the applicant site plan which shows the location of the damages on the properties which are all located towards the London plane trees which are six and seven there and ten and eleven here, sorry eleven and twelve which are those two there and the affected properties is that one there. T13 is the other oak tree here and that's T1 the oak tree. This is the site photographs, this is T1 which is a large mature and established oak tree. These are T7 and 8 which are the oak trees here, sorry London plane trees, these two here and these are 11 and 12 which is these two trees here and this is T13 the oak tree there. The damage occurring in the property can be seen quite readily with cracks down the walls around the windows and there by the windows there which is typical for general subsidence cases and it's also visible outside the property just here by the windows and then just around the base of the bay window. There's no relevant history for the trees and these properties in the past although there was movement that was being repaired in 2013 and 14. Our engineers have looked at the application and have concluded that the London plane trees are directly implicated in the movement. He also asked for DNA samples but London plane trees are clones so they're genetically similar so a DNA sample wouldn't be beneficial so it's likely that of those four plane trees one or all of them are affecting the properties. They also agreed a possibility of root barrier would be a feasible mitigation for the movement and the key considerations that the evidence provided is that the London tree roots have been identified underneath both properties in causing the damage. There was no oak trees found oak tree roots found underneath the properties but the applicants have decided to take precautionary measures to provide to reduce the trees and then the cost if the application is concluded that the evidence isn't sufficient there's maybe an excess of £105,000 compensation costs may be liable to the council. So the recommendation is based on the evidence provided to whether the remedy of subsidence on the basis of the information provided. Thank you. Thank you. We have no speakers on this item and I don't think the applicant is speaking either. So do members have any questions? Councillor O'Connor. Thank you. In your opinion would a root barrier be as effective as removing the trees? They can be yes. So the root barriers effectively are three to four meter deep trench dug around the affected properties and then they insert a copper barrier that seals completely separates the trees from the properties. But from from the evidence that you've described would sound to me like there's no evidence that the oak trees are causing problems so my inclination would be to leave them alone. Would it be a possibility to reduce the crown of the the plane trees? Would that that's not what the application I know that's not what yeah would that be another alternative? I know that's not what the application is. The problem with doing that is the insurance companies and the thing is it has to be done on a repeated basis so and then to make a meaningful difference to have to reduce 50 to 60 percent of the whole crown of the tree which should then render the tree with virtually no visual amenity and so it's perhaps if you're going to do that it's perhaps better to remove the trees in totality and plant more appropriate species. Okay thank you. Mr Roberts? No thank you chair. That site has a substantial number I don't know how many I've never counted but substantial number of mature trees there and particularly remove those four plane trees would would very much alter the perspective of that estate is that not the case? It would have an impact on the visual character of the estate but they were planted as part of they appear to be planted as part of the landscaping and and they don't predate the development itself so they're sort of part of the landscaping of it. Those London plane trees have a capability to grow to 25 30 meters tall so eventually and they're growing quite close together so at some point they'll need some intervention anyway for our bicultural reasons. Bearing in mind the trees came off to the building and the buildings are quite old would you consider the foundations of the building to be adequate? The the buildings were built in 1905 somewhere around then so the issues around subsidence and clay soils wasn't considered so the buildings were built to stand of a traditional standard at the time they were built. Thank you there's no more questions or comments we'll go to a vote now we're asked to either approve this application or refuse the application as you can see on there so all those in favor of approval three and refusal three so that's that's three for refusal three for approval so the chair has a casting vote and I vote to refuse this application so this application has been refused and we now move on to the next item which is East Barnet school all right okay so this application relates to the installation of flood lighting to the existing sports pitch to the south side of East Barnet school the pitch sits atop a plateau surrounded by an embankment and enclosed by semi transparent fencing predominantly three meters in height rising to five meters along the ends with additional ball netting behind the goals at around eight meters or so as a result of the embankment the surrounding adjoining properties sit at a lower level however the scheme has been amended to cite the single flood lights along the sides and increase the number of lights on the end columns to two so it was previously reversed containing the light more effectively and reducing the amount of light spill behind the goals the scheme has also been upgraded to incorporate maximum cutoff louvers and maximum nine degree tilt which will also mitigate the impact with deliberate reference to the level change to the surrounding properties the proposal would support the operation of the school and the associated community use including the corollary health benefits in accordance with the ambitions of the core strategy and the ecology officer has sustained no objection as such the proposal is recommended for approval thank you we have two speakers Costas Nicola and Emma Godley so I think I've got Costas Nicola speaking in objection if you'd like to knit so Nicola Costas is it Costas Nicola or Nicola Costas I'm not sure Costas Mr Nicola hello I believe you're objecting so if you take a seat okay thank you and then if you can turn the microphone on there's a face picture at the bottom do you see that the face speaking face there can you press that press it yet I just pressed the face the picture of the face below you might need to come and show you something that's difficult to see it no that's it that's it that's on and then you'll have three minutes if you introduce yourself you have three minutes to speak and we'll let you know when you've got a minute left okay hello I'm here to represent the views of the majority of local residents who are strongly opposed to this proposal initially I should stress that we residents we are tolerant reasonable citizens and local neighbors of the school but we have genuine concerns and we hope that these questions and concerns are going to be as follows which I'm going to read to you firstly we have the big concern about noise pollution residents are very worried about the anti-social noise that will come from this proposal which would disturb our bright to peaceful enjoyment in our homes we already experience excessive noise daily during every school day during the evenings and at weekends when this pitch is in use and this proposal would dramatically increase that secondly a lack of data there is uncertainty about future noise and light pollution levels how have current noise levels been evaluated for this application and what measures will be taken to monitor the noise levels to ensure compliance with legal standards next illumination times residents oppose the proposed illumination times if the proposal was to go forward reducing operating times for the lights would be essential and we would request clear documentation on those changes the school starts generating intrusive noise from 8 30 on weekdays and 9 a.m at weekends your this proposal would mean that residents have to tolerate noise up to 12 and a half hours a day during the week and seven hours a day at weekends there is no volume control or switch off button when there is noise on the pitch and 22 people are running around the only way to control that would be to reduce the hours the lights would be on next light pollution flood lights will be intrusive to our property and our way of life with light spillage in our back lanes gardens and homes the lighting is shown to some extent to mitigate light pollution but as we know there will be still still be light spillage bright light and intrusive green glow from the pitch generating pollution given post proximity of our homes how can this be acceptable lastly community engagement many residents feel sidelined by the school what measures will the school take to include resident views if the proposal moves forward such as joint review groups or site visits we understand that both the school and the sports club would be operating on this site this is a community school in the residential area and dual use of the site in this way would cause excessive disturbance in conclusion the majority of residents firmly oppose the proposed flood lights due to significant concerns about noise pollution insufficient data current future impacts and intrusive light spillage we urge the committee and the school to address these concerns thoughtfully before any decisions are made residents deserve to have their voices heard and considered in this important matter in our daily lives thank you thank you uh first of all listen the glove could you say exactly where you live i live in richway avenue sorry one of the houses at one of the end of the pitches on the left or the pitch can we point out is that your unit probably close to the the end of the penalty area on the goal mouth on the left just about there okay and you're talking very much about noise which we we do appreciate but how much noise are you hearing at the moment up until four o'clock every day from the pitch and well from the pitch on school grounds we obviously hear um when the kids are out on morning breaks when they're out at lunch break um they're out playing running around so we put up with that because we live near a school and we appreciate that is that is that on the pitch or is that just general that's on the pitch and in the grounds when the kids come out of breaks and then after school we can hear kids running around doing things and then i think up to three days during the week the pitch is in use in the evenings during the summer and sometimes that is quite excessive but the worst of it is at the weekends on a saturday and sunday morning in in summer literally we're not able to open our windows are going to the garden because there is screaming and shouting and quite a foul language sometimes which we've complained for school and schools plus about several times right yeah i mean i hope that school might have might discuss that with you i mean clearly that is a nuisance but of course that will continue whether or not there are floodlights there well yes the only time we get the really uh a graceful of peace from that is during winter when it's pitch black and it's peace and quiet and we can sit back and enjoy it if these lights come in we'll literally have this going up to every single day of the year okay thank you any other questions yes council conway sorry do you know what the distance is from the end of your house until the beginning from the end of our garden to the actual pitch of the fencing is probably i would say roughly about 20 to 25 meters thank you no oh Councillor Roberts um just funny are you aware the school it is is or has planted trees kind of first small kind of trees at the top end certainly the top end i didn't see further down at the top end where it's next to the school premises i think which when those trees grow up they will provide shelter from noise and light coming from those pitches well i don't i don't really think that would excessively or reduce any noise or whatever because it's an open area it's a it's the size of a full football pitch and it's open all the way around i don't think that would reduce noise much in my opinion but the trees are on their fence line so as they as they grow up they will provide a barrier i don't think they'll provide a barrier with 22 grown men or teenagers running around playing a football match we're literally in our house we can stand in the bedroom and even with windows closed sometimes the noise is excessive and unbearable even with windows closed at the weekend okay thank you the picture we've been shown of what the site will look like with lights shows the light is only on the football pitch it's based on your speech and the paper here you disagree with that yes what that's based on well because obviously you will get a green glow from the lights going onto the pitch you'll get a green glow flowing in the atmosphere in the in the area thank you i think that's all the questions thank you very much and now we've got emma godley speaking in support of the application thank you thanks for having me thank you and again your microphone is on already you'll have if you introduce yourself then you have three minutes to speak and you'll be given a warning when's one minute left thank you thanks for having me today um unlike most the majority of those who have objected to this application i live on day land and i back on directly to the asbro pitch i moved to that location with an 11 month old baby and an eight-year-old child was i concerned about the noise and the profanity coming from the school yes of course absolutely i was however other redeeming factors outweighed that and i chose to move to my home behind the school despite those concerns nine years later and now with the nine nine and 17 year old having been through the toddler young and now older child and teenage stages we are a family who spends a lot of time outside and in our garden have my worries been justified no absolutely not yes there is occasional profanity however i emphasize the word occasional you do expect that with humans they swear sometimes the sounds of children playing or should i say teenagers playing of kids football clubs at the weekend of the occasional adults who already use the astro weeknights sometimes in the dark are joyous happy and enthusiastic sounds it sounds of adults teenagers and children who are passionate about kicking a ball around and burning off some energy while keeping both physical and mental health engaged these sounds are delightful they're not overly loud just a happy healthy healthy cheerful hum with regards to potential overspill light i don't believe that i it will have negative impact on my own home or garden nor that of my behind the astro neighbors many of whom are also supportive of this application however have not necessarily made a supportive notion on their application i welcome increased use of the facilities into the evening hours and strongly believe that amateur and social athletes will only add as a security deterrent helping to keep our home safe to be completely transparent as well as being a direct neighbor to the astro i also work at the school and i'm a parent of a year 13 student at east barnet and a year five pupil who probably will choose east barnet as his secondary choice east barnet school has a fantastic p.e department who are passionate about engaging our children in sport and activity i for sure fully support that drive and i trust that the committee today will see that the benefits to our community far outweigh the worries that some people may have worries much like my own nine years ago when i moved to my home on dane land that will prove to be unjust thanks for listening to me thank you i mean could you as well point out exactly where you live on the plan yeah so i'm i'm 80 day land if you see the astro on the right hand side i am the building that runs directly parallel to the top to the north side of the astro yeah pretty much in that circle at the bottom of your circle that you're making that's it that's me and my back fence is about four to five meters from the astro fence so your yes your house and your gardens are quite close to it very close yeah okay thank you any other questions counselor roberts just want to establish from what you said you don't find it disruptive at the present time not at all i think it's a lovely sound kids playing and adults went the pitch sometimes in the evenings it even that it's a lovely sound just men women kids having fun running around they're they're playing sport they're not they're trying to vandalize anything or they're not taking drugs or drinking i personally don't think so i've had a good look at the plans and the lights i'm familiar with football pitches i go to a few of them myself with my nine-year-old boy the lights are very focused there's barnet gate barnet gate astro 4g pitch on barnet gate lane and those floodlights are very focused there's no overspill onto the surrounding area i don't you know i will see the lights from my house but i don't believe that they're going to be coming into my territory in any in any sense of that do you any other no i mean i uh yeah scout's mechanic sorry um due to the nature of of the incline so um the incline is from the school falling away to the pitches yeah so there's a difference in height level yeah how do you think the the lights will affect your property because you're at the you're at the lowest end yeah well i guess that puts them more in my highline than people who are at a higher end but i don't think that it's going to affect my mental health or anyone in my household or in my neighboring houses i think we'll see them just like we can see excuse me just like we can see the the domestic lights on the other side of the astro now of people who live on ridgeway we can see their lights i'll be able to see these lights they'll just be a little bit closer and maybe taller but i don't feel like that should override the opportunity for more people in the community to look after themselves thank you any other questions the speaker no thank you very much thank you and then we have claire blondon who's down here is the agent yes is there a representative from the school yeah we've got claire blondon's name down here but if you can introduce yourself and then again you're 15 minutes sorry five minutes three minutes to speak hello i'm helen chamberlain i'm the school business leader at the school the school wish to request planning permission for the installation of floodlights to enhance the use of our facilities for both our students and the wider community the main driver is that they will enable an extended enrichment offer for students throughout the year increasing their physical and mental well-being students well-being is one of our top priorities and unfortunately many of our sports clubs have to be curtailed in the winter months because of the poor light limiting the free local and vital student enrichment activities that are accessible to all in 2020 the government invested in a national drive to encourage schools to open up their facilities for the benefits of communities and to enable schools to extend their facilities to sports and activity clubs also a condition of the redevelopment of this site in 2010 from sport england was that the school commit to making our facilities available to our local community we are a community school at all the outdoor clubs we currently let our facilities to our community groups offering sports activities to young people and adults the installation of floodlights would also enable the school to generate much further much needed funding to help with the upkeep and investment for the replacement of the astroturf which will in turn enhance the education and facilities available to our students the school building is now over 10 years old and we find that we need to update many of the facilities a priority being the astroturf prior to the application for floodlights the school is proud to say that it is not aware of receiving any complaints in respect of lettings related noise or other nuisance any complaints that we've received since the floodlight consultation have been investigated fully the school however acknowledges the issues raised by the local residents since we proposed this initiative an ecological survey has been carried out and as stated in the committee report any issues no the spill of light are mitigated through measures referenced in the lighting detail with regard to noise since opening the site in 2010 the school has had lettings averaging three nights a week during the summer months and during the day at weekends as per the application the school intends the use of floodlights for lettings for no more than three evenings a week no later than 9 p.m the school feel that measures taken together with restrictions on the timing of lettings are overall effective in ensuring that noise noise is not excessive we have a large car park which is available for use by lettings avoiding congestion and minimizing associated traffic noise the mitigation method measures as well as restrictive hours of use are considered to have an acceptable impact regarding lighting and ecology as confirmed by lighting and ecology officers noise impacts are considered to be adequately mitigated by the restrictive opening hours and would not lead to subsequent infrastructure impacts such as traffic and parking stress and would enable the use of the pitch in the winter months in line with existing youth youth the benefits to the school would be enormous thank you thank you um can i just confirm that the times of this we've got here that the flag lights will not be certainly lit after 9 p.m on weekdays and 4 p.m on weekends that's correct so i mean currently you know we're just past the mid-summer and evenings are starting to get but but currently how much are they used during those times during the times that would be affected by floodlights so at the moment we have lettings during the summer up to around three evenings a week a couple of them are no later than eight o'clock and then we do have football letting on a saturday morning into the afternoon so this might extend it to winter months but overall the impact you fear is that it's not going to be any greater than it is now no it will just get extended into the winter months so we're not we're not intending to extend the number of lettings that we currently have in the summer into the winter because we we want to ensure that we're supportive of residents and want to ensure that we're minimizing the impact as far as possible yeah i mean i asked this because clearly clearly we can't do anything particularly about the noise no that's not under planning but it's whether the installation of these floodlights will it will increase that nuisance um with regard to the nuisance that we've heard from from the ejector and there there are 45 ejectors i think saying the same kind of thing what kind of relationship do you have with local people they can come and complain and you'll take their concerns address concerns yes i mean as i've said in my um speech any um complaint that we've had has been fully investigated so there was a particular resident who was concerned and we've had a number of meetings with her the lettings company that we employ to kind of look after our lettings went around there on a saturday morning to kind of measure the noise the deputy head teacher who's been on site when there's been complaints has been down and we haven't found it to be excessive but obviously she's concerned and we've done as much as we can to kind of support that but as i said that that that those complaints came after we put our application in for the floodlights we hadn't received those complaints prior to that and we haven't had any change since really we opened in 2010 in terms of the number of lettings that we have during the summer and clearly we have a number of people in support as well as we've heard so yep thank you very much other questions counselor calick thank you um when we visited the school to to to see the site and to see the effect you would have on the neighborhood you and you erected large netting at both ends to stop walls going into people's gardens to alleviate their concerns should in the future there be major concerns of like could you put blackout screens on the other sides of the curtain but potentially if there are concerns and it's something that we can look at i mean as i as i explained when when you came this morning we are concerned about the neighbors we had an issue where the balls and it wasn't through lettings it was the student as they were playing football were going into one of the neighbors um gardens and was causing her distress so at our expense we arranged to have that netting put up so we're very responsive we want to do as much as we can but at the same time we want to ensure that our students are getting the best um offer that we can we can give them questions counselor roberts again on on the site visit just confirming there were some quite substantial tree plantations there which in in the fullness of time not not next year but but moving forward will provide protection from the light falling on the rear gardens yes absolutely yes and they were there planted for that purpose by the school yes all right thank you okay if there's no further questions thank you very much thank you any questions to the officers no otherwise we'll go straight to the vote then um the officers are recommending approval of this item almost in favor of approval that's all so this item has been approved and we move on now to the next item which is 21 Hampstead gardens thank you chair this application relates to 21 Hampstead gardens the conversion of an existing dwelling into three flats including part single part two-story extensions roof extension and other alterations to the roof and roof lights and associated amenity space refuse and cycle storage the extensions themselves have the benefit of a separate permission and as we saw on site this morning are currently being built on site that's the location plan the property is at the end of a cul-de-sac backing um onto hoop lane cemetery to the east so this is the that's the end property here this is the cemetery some site photographs um so that's the existing side access way to the onto the next the cemetery the front elevation this is the rear elevation so this is the boundary line here so this is a small extension at the neighboring property at ground floor level and this current existing two-story outrigger the existing elevations this is sorry this is the property here so that's existing and these are the existing side elevation the existing floor plans ground floor plan and the existing garden first floor plan and the roof sections these are the approved elevations for the extensions that are currently being built so this is the property here so this is the rear the that existing outrigger has been extended sideways coming no further rearward but to the side so main extension here two-story small dormer in the roof that's the approved roof plan so the proposed elevations are essentially the same at the rear and this is the front this is the extension here so the first floor is extended partly over the ground floor but retaining this passageway for access to the rear the proposed side elevation the dormer window which would overlook the cemetery the floor plans showing a family-sized five three-bed five-person unit at ground floor they'd have their own private garden here and the remaining garden is for allocated for the other two flats access down this side passageway there's no car parking existing or proposed on the front here and that would be the remain these are the bike stores and refuse areas which could be positioned on this part of the site you'll see in the recommendation that there is a proposal to have a legal agreement to restrict future occupiers from having car parking residents car parking permits within the cpz these are the proposed upper floor plans so there's a two-bed unit on the first floor and then a split level one-bed unit over this part of the first floor and within the loft the proposed roof plan and sections which show adequate head heights for all floors to provide decent amenity for the future occupiers so the main considerations are that the works with the exception of roof lights and the subdivision of the garden all have planning permission by virtue of a house extension application the application is compliant with the council's emerging and adopted policies in relation to flat conversions and officers consider it's acceptable in terms of the impact on the character of the property has set out in the report highways raised no objections subject to these 106 agreements restrict parking permits and approval is recommended thank you thank you we have two speakers on this item karin yet brand and atul monger either both of you there doesn't matter which order which one you wish to speak in can i is that my case uh yes you're mr monger yes thank you please do if you can take a seat um if you can introduce yourself and then you'll have three minutes to speak you'll be given a warning when you have one minute left sure thank you okay um i speak here on behalf of all the residents of the cul-de-sac i own number 17 which is part of the mid-terrace that's been impacted by this you will note that 18 of us had objected to this initially when the first allocation came up and when the delegated report of 14 january or 14 june was put up it simply referenced a part single part two story and all the references to three apartment blocks was taken away which appears to have been misleading at best and seems to have led people to believe that it is now just two apartments rather than three which is highly objectionable i think more importantly the proposal for conversion into family dwellings but in the absence of adequate parking very clearly does not encourage families to either own or rent such apartments and as we've seen in the houses that have been converted it clearly thanks to the in the creation of multiple kitchens and multiple bathrooms results in single occupants per whom becoming the predominant dwellers of of such conversions and it's fair to say that 1069 finchley road which has converted into apartment blocks this is the former police station which was converted and has no parking permission has had a lot of problem actually selling those apartments moving on based on the usage of the space between the cemetery wall and the current wall of the house of the terrace there is clearly if car parking is permitted there is clearly no possibility of a one meter space for people to pass through in case of an emergency leave aside even under normal circumstances to me and to the rest of us deciding on that road the reference to putting any kind of cycle parking is beyond bemusing because no no no house on the road that really has any cycle parking so it is really clearly likely to be misleading the conversion of other houses on the road should not be seen as a precedence because like i said it's used for purposes other than actually families being there and like i said the key thing for us is that the turning on that road the radius on the road for turning absolutely does not permit any extension on the side because it will only come at the expense of the current parking areas parking based on the road which defeats the entire purpose of actually not allowing additional parking for this house so i just struggle to understand how this complies with the standards okay thank you i mean with regards to parking there is a condition that occupiers of these flats would not be able to obtain a parking permit so that addresses the parking i would just like to clarify that the parking on that road is not restricted for all the 24 hours which means that after 6 30 p.m in the evening and before 9 30 in the morning there is no stoppage on anyone parking on that road this is very likely to encourage people to park on the road at the expense of existing residents and those that have cars on that road um yes i mean that this is aims that they're unlikely to be able to afford to to buy a car because they'll just park it during the day but that that is there that ameliorates that somewhat any other questions no we have no other questions for you thank you very much thank you and then we have the culling diasporan thank you and and again if you can introduce yourself then you have three minutes to speak yeah i'll try to be quick i wrote few words just to thank you not forget so i'm a house owner from the from dingwell gardens the parallel street and i've been living there for 18 years in the last few years we've been experiencing serious parking issues since the conversion of several houses on our street into two or three flats and hamster gardens became the only place for us to park our one car on most days also residents from neighboring streets are coming to park on our street as they have parking problems this is a consistent problem throughout the day and not only at night when the restrictions are not there so because we it's parking permits only until six six o'clock and then afterwards like the gentleman said anyone can park there on top of that bonnet council decided without consulting the resident to allocate two parking spaces for electric cars on all our small streets these are very small streets around us which means again less parking spaces for residents these are all small streets and the parking is very limited as it is increasing the numbers of homes will make it even harder for all of us and bear in mind that every household each household is allowed to have two parking permit permits and converting houses into flats in these small streets just means less car less parking and more stress for us we had few issues with neighbors over parking because they have three cars in one flat we have one car in a house and we own a house and we can't park our one house because they have three cars it's just it makes it very hard for all of us these are very very small streets and it's just making it very hard for all of us thank you okay thank you as i as i said to mr monger there is a condition that people who occupy these flats will not be able to have parking permits so if it's a single family house at the moment they can have two permits they won't be they won't be able to have any so there won't be four more permits will be generally i think converting flats into houses into flats on these small streets it's it's a problem yes no except that that is everywhere parking is problem everywhere so any other questions thank you thank you very much now we have the is the agent here i have your name is danielle sentier that's correct thank you chair thank you again if you can choose yourself you have three minutes to speak and give you an order when you have one minute left perfect thank you very much um good evening everyone and thank you for the opportunity to speak my name is danielle sentier um i'm a chartered member of the rtpi and the agent for the planning application um as you will have seen when you went out on site today um there are a number of householder extensions that have been recently consented and have been constructed or in the process of being constructed at the property um one of these is the the two story side extension which already looks to change the relationship between the property and the boundary particularly overlooking the um the cemetery the point about the turning circle is an interesting one because actually there is no sort of legal right over that land to be able to use it as a turning circle and the proposed two-story extension which is under construction at the moment is already going to change that ability to be able to use it for that purpose but what we spoke about earlier is in relation to the bin and bike stores if there's concerns around the location specifically of that there's a planning condition as well that if there's a condition that would allow us to move that or relocate that subject to planning conditions which could be assessed by officers at a later stage if there was a concern in relation to that with regards to turning of vehicles at the end of the road um i appreciate the concerns that have been raised by um by the objectors and the people that live on the road as been quite rightly pointed out by the chair the situation with the house as existing is it's entitled to two parking permits on the road the three flats as proposed would be entitled to no parking permits on the road at all so it would actually remove two of the permit holders from the road by way of this proposal if this were to be approved this evening so we hope that that would make the parking situation significantly better in relation to the policy position for this application your new policy ho u3 it specifically states that the council will optimize the potential for housing delivery through residential conversion and redevelopment of larger family homes if you go into that policy this thank you this site meets all of those criteria in terms of its location is its public accessibility transport rating as well so i find it hard to see that your council couldn't provide any more support for this type of subdivision of properties as it meets all of those identified criteria we're also looking to re-provide a three-bedroom property on the ground floor with a two-bedroom on the first floor and then a one-bedroom duplex in the loft so a real good mix of accommodation in this location which is also something that your local plan is seeking to provide the housing is sustainably located and will make optimum use of the site which was vacant for 10 years before it was purchased by my client so we don't want to end up in that situation for much longer the public right of access as well has been maintained so that we can we can ensure that that will continue to benefit the local residents you can see that that's been done through the inclusion of the archway which has already been built on site so i hope that that clarifies all of the points that have been raised but please let me know if you've got any other queries thank you thank you could i just ask do you know um how many other houses in that street are converted to flats to the best of my knowledge there are none that have been given planning permission explicitly however i'm aware that numbers five one five six and seven appear to have council tax records as though they have been perhaps converted earlier you know in the past so those properties appear to have been converted although albeit there was no planning permission explicitly for that purpose those are converted into two flats this is three i believe so i believe they're converted into two flats so three flats is rather larger than any others for that for that quite i mean the properties are all quite different along this road as well in terms of the size that's available to them um so there is enough you know there's more than enough space to be able to get a three bed a two bed and a one bed and all of them are all of them are exceeding the national space standards as well we've not made these small flats they are they're generously sized flats in accordance with the new london plan best practice guidance so we've made sure that they're suitable size so there is enough size there is enough square footage in this property to accommodate the the three flats that are proposed okay any other questions council roberts i just wanted to clarify it will be made clear to the occupants as when they're moving they have no parking rights there absolutely it would need to be so for anyone that was renting or purchasing these properties it would be marketed as such that there were no there was no ability to be able to gain a parking permit as part of their as part of their purchase or their rental so the previous speaker the objectors who very largely spoken about parking has been their concerns yeah of course as far as you're concerned that will not arise because there will be no parking spacing allocated with those properties there's no parking there's no permits allocated to those properties i'm aware of what what the uh objectors have mentioned in terms of the timings of the permits but they're even permitted at the weekend so how feasible is it that you're going to keep getting up and moving your car every time there's a restrict and where are you going to put it so i just i think if you are reliant on a car and you know that you can't get a permit in this location this probably isn't the location for you to be honest but there's plenty of people that are going to make use of the station the cycle parking that's available you know we're trying to shift towards more sustainable methods of transport i think there's plenty of people that would love to live in a location like this but that don't necessarily need to rely on a private car there's also a number of car club bays located nearby as well which people can rely on the other questions no thank you very much thank you shall i turn this off thank you any comments or questions for the officers yes can i just um ask about the amenity space um and uh how much space there is if if there are three flats on that side so the ground floor flat has this area here which i cannot read basically the the whole garden at the moment is about it's about eight by eight so 64 square meters um so i think the the ground floor probably has slightly under 30 square meters and the upper two floors flats have this area at the back here um which obviously is going to be well another third again over the size of the ground floor flat so it more than meets the standard for flats uh thank you and also that that diagram seems to suggest that the pavement is going to change which i assume it probably won't be because um at the moment as they were saying yes so this is the um that's the front the front wall of the properties this is the pavement if i just go back to the photograph the people have mentioned the turning circle um so as we saw on site this is the road and then it's a very small turning circle there's one on this side here and then you can see the double yellow line here that will stay the same so that won't change no so they can't do any develop over that part so the development has to take place back within the curtilage of the property um and then there was an equivalent double yellow line on the other opposite side on the other end property so it is a small turning circle but there is a slight area there that people can use to turn around okay thank you yeah i'd like to ask can you can you just clarify our policy for maintaining single family occupancy of houses and if if they are converted into flats um the the number of flats that each property should have so wonder you know two flats may be sufficient three flats may be too much in this property the emerging policy which is the one we need to go on really given it's kind of in a very quite advanced stage now is set out in the report to try and secure family housing and protect family housing there's a minimum size for a house that's to be converted so if it's less than 135 square meters we won't grant planning commission for flat conversion that's not the case in this with this one has to be within a p-tail of three or more which this one is or it has to be close to a town center but this is in a p-tail three area so that complies with the policy um all conversion applications have to provide a three-bed five person unit which this one does on the ground floor and then all other units should be 61 square meters and in this case they both are 61 or more square meters so they do meet the floor size criteria for the new policy the three flats here comply with our it complies with the new policy yes thank you any other questions comments and we'll go to the vote the offices are recommending approval all those in favor and against one not voting you're not one not voting so that application is approved and we move on to the next item which is Marwood court and Gradyton road this is an outline application to construct a third floor level to provide two one-bed flats on the top of an existing flat roof block also provision of off-street parking refuse recycling cycle storage for the whole block and new front access gates all items are to be considered as part of the outline except for landscaping which is the reserved matter so this is the site here at the end of Gradyton road off Ballard's lane opposite Victoria Park in Finchley central this is the block here as you saw on site the other side of the road is all housing terraced housing but this side of the road originally was all workshops and factories although there has been some residential development over more recent years this is the aerial photograph so that's the block here excuse me showing the relationship with the houses opposite the adjoining commercial buildings and the relationship with the properties here in Wentworth avenue and these properties down here are Wentworth park and that's the view from the other side photograph looking down Gunnison avenue so the site is on the left at the bottom down here that's the front elevation showing the existing commercial use next door so that's the building three floors with a flat roof and this shows the boundary with the rear of the gardens in Wentworth avenue and that's the view the other side so these are the existing floor plans the same on each floor and that's the existing elevations the existing proposed site plan so currently there's no bin store the bins were just left in sort this front area there is parking area at the back which but there's no formal layout for the car parking and this is a communal garden area which serves all the flats the proposal is to provide a gate here access into the sites to formalize the car parking sorry the cycle parking and the refuse storage within the front garden for all the flats and then to formalize car parking at the back here so the communal space here will be largely unchanged in terms of the garden area for the residents so that's the proposed rear and side so essentially a new crown roof is going to be formed on the top this is the side elevation and the rear elevation dormer windows in all the elevations here front and that's the front and side elevation so this is the one that you would see from the street the windows on this side here which will be the ones facing Wentworth avenue gardens are small kitchen windows and will be obscure glazed to prevent overlooking this is the proposed third floor showing two one-bed flats layout and the long section here so this is the the proposed so that's obviously the approximately existing height this is the new height it's only one and a half meters higher to the ridge than the existing and that's the Wentworth house so there it is slightly lower level here but this shows the distance of 30 meters 30 meter deep gardens to the properties in Wentworth and as i said the windows the dorm windows on this side here are obscure glazed to avoid overlooking nothing further to add thank you thank you we have one object mr k thank you mr k i'd like to confirm we have received your emails as well with your concerns and we have had a look at those uh again if you can put you put put the microphone on there's a button with the face on it you can see that um it's got a face on it near the bottom that's picture with the face okay three minutes to speak and you'll be given a warning when you have one minute left thank you very much indeed and good evening members um i'm actually here representing uh the neighbors so this my role is as an advocate on behalf of mr lester and the other neighbors who are here this evening um my name is danny k i'm a child surveyor and a member of the town and country planning association amongst other things i was born in barnet i've lived in barnet i've worked in barnet and i care about barnet i've been working in housing developments and urban regeneration for over 25 years i've worked on over 500 development regeneration projects including for seven years as the development director for a leading london housing association i now run a consultancy business aimed at promoting and delivering sustainable housing development as such i normally find myself advocating for new homes however this is a very this is a very rare example of the of the reverse i've been fully briefed by mr lester mr lester and neighbors and indeed have supported mark and others in in their objections barnet rightfully has an excellent track record of delivering high quality housing and indeed strong plans for significant new supply thousands of homes in key areas in other areas in barnet it is in this overall context that i believe this specific proposal is unnecessary inappropriate and is a rare example of a mistaken in my opinion application interpretation of barnet's own housing design and planning policies in particular i should draw your attention to the specific explicit wording contained in your 2016 supplementary planning document which is called the residential design guide proposals for new quotes proposals for new residential development should respond to the distinctive local building forms and patterns of development and respect scale mass and heights of the surrounding physical context i i don't believe this is the case the pre-existing building which no one can do anything about is an aberration predated the spd an extra story would definitely be out of keeping even if partly pitched in terms of scale and typology moreover the policy wording was designed to arrest further inappropriate additions of this data and i represent it do not demur from the housing needs yet in terms of the balance of harm the impact on all the neighbors of this additional story is out of keeping and uh how long do i have okay if i may i'd like to pass around this uh this photograph and just take issue with one of the slides that was up we're showing a tree um masking the uh the new build in fact this the reality of the situation is as you can see here effectively this area will be uh which is developed and will have a significant impact on the local character and suburban nature as defined in your own policies thank you thank you thank you questions um what i'd like to ask with with regard to that picture you showed from a garden so the current top floor is already overlooking the garden so yes this is the existing so other concerns is it's going to make it worse or it's going to make it worse significantly in what way if the garden so in terms of the overbearing and the over and the sense of being overlooked in the overbearing nature the impact on the gardens in in the area so if this is the distance the distance both between the building and the boundary and the building in the house i pick a pardon the distance between the building and the edge of the garden and the building of the house yes far exceed um the the minimum that should be i'm sorry i don't understand your point um the distance between between this building and the and the boundary of the garden and the garden yeah and more distance between that and the house yeah i understand and the breath of the committee report does make reference to distance but that is only one element there are a number of other policy references in your local plan in your emergent local plan in the sbt which actually counter that just a distance argument and i could quote from your own policies and i would i'm raising this because i do genuinely believe that this is inappropriate and will have an impact on the neighbors okay so but really the concern is just overlooking of garden the concern is overlooking the overbearing nature of the scheme the impact on the privacy or the sense of privacy and how that will affect the enjoyment of the gardens and the spaces uh that the neighbors currently enjoy the the pre-existing situation is not great but it is what it is you can't change that an additional story will have a material impact in terms of the sense of enjoyment and overlooking thank you uh castle barnes so and so if you get are you just representing people from wentworth avenue correct okay all right okay thank you okay thank you very much thank you uh and then we have the agent to henry i believe again you know you know how this works by now if you can introduce yourself to us then you have three minutes thank you chair and members um my name is joe henry and i'm the agent acting for the application like the speaking object i was born in barnet work in barnet live in barnet and care about barnet the application has been referred to this committee by council rich because he was concerned about a possible overlooking of gardens in wentworth avenue i did email council rich and he explained the windows facing the rear gardens of the properties in wentworth avenue are proposed to be obscure glazed to ensure no overlooking he kindly responded and said he did discuss the matter of local residents but the remain of the view that an extra floor impinges on their gardens as stated in your office report the proposed two proposed windows facing the rear gardens at wentworth avenue will be obscure glazed meaning there will be no overlooking i would also draw your attention to suggested planning condition number 10 which requires these windows to be obscure glass only and shall be permanently retained as such thereafter in respect of the impact the proposal has on the character and appearance of the area and the building itself i would comment as follows the application site forms part of a street which has a very mixed character of residential and commercial properties with varying designs massing and heights the proposal provides a crown roof extension on existing flat roof the existing flat roof block style building has limited architectural merit almost every other building within the road and indeed beyond in in wentworth avenue has a pitch roof the introduction of a pitch roof would significantly improve the design form of the existing building overall contributing positively to the character and appearance of the building and the locality it's also important to note the proposal seeks to provide two additional dwellings which will contribute to addressing the housing crisis something on which the new government has prioritized as their top priority thank you for listening i'll be happy to answer any questions you may have thank you any questions no it looks like you explained your style quite well thank you very much any comments or questions the officers Councillor Callick the existing height of the building includes a balustrade how much will the additional height how much additional height will be added by adding the pictures yeah this element here um is kind of a parapet around the existing flat roof so the additional height is about one and a half meters because part of that will be taken away to provide the the pitch so the oval ridge is not a full three meter high new additional floor it's um about one and a half meters higher to the top of the ridge thank you any further questions no then we should go to the vote the officers are recommending this for approval all those in favor of approval that's all so this application is approved thank you and we move on to the next one now which is forward side avenue good evening councillors this next application is forward side avenue concerning the demolition of the existing dwelling on site and the erection of a new building with the basement level to create six new self-contained flats this is the location plan of the site um you can see all right here's an aerial view um to the left there's a yellow star indicating the site and just to give you the context of the scheme the far right of the image is the finchley high road which is in the north eventually town center this is some photos aerial views you can see the opposite side of the applicant site has a variety of different buildings and building forms of flat roofs whereas the side that the applicant site is on is a more traditional um house form these are the existing elevations and the existing floor plans the proposed front and rear elevations so it's a two-story building with a crown roof form and at the bottom is a street scene image of how the building will appear amongst the neighbors side elevation the south side elevation facing the properties on woodside park road and the north side elevation facing number six woodside avenue section drawing there just illustrates the basement level and the light wells that are proposed there'll be a lower ground floor across lower ground and ground there'll be three duplex units so these are the ground floor units each of these units benefit from either a light well or a private rear garden amenity space two units at the first floor and one unit within the roof level here's the proposed site layout plan showing five parking spaces within the driveway at the front and a large communal garden at the rear so in summary officers have assessed that the principle of the conversion of the existing house and its redevelopment to be compliant with policy and acceptable the scheme would provide a good range of larger family-sized units with a good standard on accommodation and as to parking five parking spaces are proposed on site which has been again assessed to be compliant with policy the application is recommended for approval subject to conditions thank you we have four people listed of objectives we can only hear two so i don't know who is who is here now who would like to speak if you agreed which two are going to speak uh if you can turn the microphone on what's your name this is a picture of the face a picture of the face that's it that's it got it okay so are you on your neighbors right first of all my own are we just just who you are my name's rizwan koreshi sorry rizwan koreshi and i'm the resident of 56 woodside park road right yes thank you thank you if you can uh introduce yourself you have three minutes to speak you'll be given a warning when you have one minute left okay um my first point is that my understanding of the law is that it's got a built-in democratic factor every resident in the area has objected to this residence so i expect the committee based on this democratic principle to reject this development the other point i'd like to raise is from my point of view this application is invalid because it was wrongly validated by the planning department first of all they didn't have any scale or scale bar on their drawings secondly uh the site plan of the area is from 2016 it isn't the current uh site plan for the area so i failed to see with all these wrong informations how the planning department ever got to make that decision that or recommend approval for this scheme the other thing is in my view this contravenes council's own policies first of all i applied for planning application to my property which would have seen a first floor extension which was rejected i have no quarrel with that it was rejected that it was overbearing and it wasn't in keeping with the pattern of development on that street so this extension on four woodside avenue is going to result in a much much larger bulking than my extension was so i failed to see how the council can recommend uh this has been compliant with its own policies because they rejected mine this in effect is like adding a three-story extension to the existing property and it is huge uh that's my first point uh it's going to disrupt the development pattern of the street and if this application is allowed to carry on then what's to prevent every other uh house in that street becoming six flats i felt yeah a precedence will be set that's my thank you any questions no i think yes sorry to hear about your own problems with getting um i've got no problems with that i just i just well you brought it up so i just thought i thought i'd just ask you were you uh requesting to having a first for extension at the back of your property that's right yeah so that does differ to this this is on the side of the property no no no if you look at the development using the existing buildings as standard then the resulting bulk is a six meter three-story extension if you see what i mean no i don't see what you mean but um i have looked at the plans yeah it's uh it's uh it's outward projection is huge to the rear of the property on one floor no on three floors so we'll ask offices to clarify that with the planning offices any other questions no thank you very much um that so who else we've got three other names who else is speaking here just clarify that's okay with the other name and objectives that's no one else hoping to speak yes that's fine thank you and you you are i'll introduce myself good evening my name is mr chandok all right thank you yes i've lived in 12 oopside avenue since 1978 okay i'm just going to clarify you have three minutes to speak you'll be given a warning when you have one minute left fine thank you so basically i've lived in woodside avenue for 46 years in 1978 with my wife and i had two kids and then the third one was born in that house and there are six houses which are twins they're built by the same developer in 1945 number four six eight ten twelve and fourteen so when we purchased the house in 1978 they all looked like a tree lined detached houses on the right side and some victorian houses on the left hand side which were converted into flats recently one block was made of six flats without parking with 106 agreement and the other was 16 flats i don't know on what grounds they got it everybody objected but what we are finding now is that with this development they are going to change the entire connector of that street instead of detached houses we are going to start getting flats on the right side when we have none on the right side because there are six houses four six eight ten twelve and fourteen i'm number 12 since 1978 and number two excavation of the basement is going to threaten the foundations of all the adjoining houses because 1945 built houses are all having one meter deep foundations i did my own development my house was virtually back was demolished and done in 2002 and we made sure because of the crease at the back we had to go deeper foundations and with this excavation houses number four uh six eight and ten are going to be very badly affected and lastly it will be me as well at number 12 so we will have structural problems including subsidence and cracks in our walls because i've never seen any excavation in woodside avenue where you got a basement being done in the whole of woodside avenue i will ask you to check your planning records and the other question is basically parking is a nuisance now there's no space at all and as the previous applicants have pointed out to your good selves that basically people who even with 106 agreements they will try and use the resident parking spaces which are limited in the area between 6 p.m to 8 a.m in the morning and my only concern is that if i was right the gentleman was explaining there are two flats on the ground floor with basement two on the first floor that makes it four and one in the second floor but you're saying planning for six i don't know how the addition is done is it two two and one or is it two two and two that's my question to the planning officer and the parking should be minimum six to eight cars and i think there is not enough parking in the entire street you can't have two cars passing by parking on the left with single car only i had an accident on 22nd of november 2023 i nearly died my car was written off outside the new block of flats outside number four thank you thank you questions class roberts i'm just trying to understand where you're going are you against flats in principle my objection is basically it will change the character of the street totally already we have lost edwardian edwardian houses with big gardens converted into blocked two blocks of flat ones with six flats with section 106 no parking and the other one got 16 flats eight and eight they are on the corner of woodside park road and woodside avenue i had the accident outside there because the car came from the station and hit me at 50 miles per hour and the guy was prosecuted by the police and i'm waiting for my thing to be sorted on the high court for the injuries i suffered i'm sorry to hear about your accent but we're talking about the developments taking place in in the road you you say no flat should be allowed in that road that's my personal belief because already there's 22 flats down on that corner you can check your records if i'm wrong that was an edwardian house which was knocked down i know jeremy leaves told it and basically there's one block with six flats no parking and the other is 16 facts eight and eight joined together on the corner the planning officer will be best to answer that yeah so i can appreciate you saying that those houses are all the same but looking looking at the report um 16 to 18 woodside avenues that's next to where where you live uh that was allowed on appeal for for being demolished and there is precedent for this um but and and then 42 woodside avenue it's also been approved for conversion to five flats so there are precedents for this and and i know you're going to say that but also also i would say that from the design of this study large and there will be a basement which you have concerns about but otherwise it looks very similar to the the house at the moment so is that really going to affect the the impression of that row of houses number 16 and number 18 don't have any basements if i'm right they did they were not permitted any basement they wanted basement it was rejected on the first time second time they made it without the basement and they are not they are not detached houses so your the basement is the main concern definitely because it's going to affect the foundations of the existing six houses which are joining number four i'm number 12 i'm still four doors away rather than number six mr shah and number eight i think the vaswanis have sold out and somebody else has moved in number 10 the mr george they are very very concerned that's why they did not allow more than two speakers so we decided i would represent the people in woodside avenue and the gentleman my colleague will be representing woodside park road and there's a very strong objection i think there were over 50 objectors for that application and i'm i can't understand it obviously housing is needed but you're destroying the complete character of the street even number 16 and 18 have not started development i think they can't do the funding or something of the sort i know you permitted through the appeal about six or seven flats over there and there are two two properties which are joined together whereas this is a single one and you're permitting six flats which is an over development believe you me you try coming into that street i've been there 46 years and we love that area very very much okay thank you very much no no further questions thank you very much thank you um let me have the the agent the agent here i have garris stockbridge thank you mr stockbridge you have three minutes to speak you've given the warning when you have one minute left thank you good evening my name is garris stockbridge and i'm the agent for the application um we've been working closely with the planning department on this project for just over a year initially starting with pre-application advice which highlighted certain constraints and required amendment this was taken on board in the preparation of the subsequent formal planning application submitted in september 2023 since this time we have been in close contact with the planning department undertaking several rounds of amendments to address points raised during the consultation period and also changes in council policy as a result of this the matting of the proposal has been reduced and the number of units has also been decreased we have noticed several of the objection letters referring to the character of the road and the fact that the flats could affect this however as stated within the planning officer's report this issue was raised within the recent appeal decision at number 16 woodside avenue where the inspector decided that the character of the road had already changed drawing on references to other flooded developments that have been approved and constructed within the nearby area this has been followed up by subsequent planning approvals granted similar developers for similar redevelopment proposals within the road the proposed new building has been carefully designed to respect site constraints providing a stepped design to reduce impact on neighbouring properties the overall height has been set to keep the new building within the established roof line of the street we believe therefore that the scheme provides a high quality development of mixed accommodation sizes it conforms to planning policies and agree with the planning department that the application should be approved thank you thank you i just like to ask about the i mean you've you've commented that as i as i said that there are precedents with this um that the inspector has said that it's not out of character the difference with this one is is the basement yeah and the light well so i wonder if you could comment a little bit about the necessity for that the impact that that might have well the light the light well is set because of the depth of the front garden which is very deep the light well is set behind quite away from the pavement will be largely invisible it has planting around it so visually from the streets it would hardly be noticed the basement adds additional space it'll be built in accordance with building control structural designs and party wall awards which will be required if planning permission is consented thank you any further questions no that's all thank you very much thank you any questions the officers no so i think we're going to just go to the vote on that one the officers are recommending approval all those in favor of approval that's all thank you that application is approved i'll try and get through them all now that we're moving on to russell lane e-charger in russell lane okay so members are advised that this item has a corresponding advert app being heard in conjunction so i'm going to make just one presentation but then there'll be two votes subsequent to the discussion this application relates to the installation of an electric vehicle charging point on russell lane close to the junction with gallants farm road the unit will be situated on the outer edge of the broad pavement fronting the commercial parade servicing the first bay of the corresponding existing on-street parking the proposed unit will be 2.65 meters high and typical of those being rolled out across the borough by jolt in conjunction with the council the proposal will retain 3.5 meters of clear footway in line with the expectations of the tfl streetscape gardens and the disability act and the proposal is considered to be commensurate with the mixed commercial character of the setting and supports the rollout of net zero infrastructure in line with the strategic objectives of the development plan and is therefore recommended for approval thank you uh it's mr white here rub white's an object yes that you rub white right okay uh yeah the projector isn't here then yeah if you'd like to come speak then yeah so yeah you can introduce yourself and then again you'll have three minutes to speak be given a warning when you have one minute there thank you uh good evening councillors and everyone in attendance my name is patrick thomas and i'm the planning manager for jolt charge as you know jolt has been working in partnership with barnet council to deliver affordable on-street charging powered entirely by renewable energy to date we've installed 36 chargers which have delivered two and a half million clean miles to over 2 500 customers most of whom live in barnet the applications before you tonight are the culmination of months of hard work and considered site selection with your officers and stakeholders we are pleased officers have recommended the applications for approval and statutory consultees have raised no objections we would like to thank officers for their thorough report and collaborative working there are many benefits that flow from approving the jolt charger whether environmental social or economic it's worth remembering that electric vehicles benefit every resident whether they drive or not in barnet the car remains the principal mode of travel accounting for approximately 44 of all trips made barnet residents own 142 000 private cars which is the second highest level of car ownership in london approximately 4 000 deaths per annum in london are attributed to air pollution barnet has one of the highest rates with 201 deaths per year as a result in 2010 the whole borough of barnet was designated an air quality management area jolt is the only charging operator that provides a financial incentive offering 15 minutes of free charging equivalent to 30 miles for those without driveways to choose an electric vehicle we understand that electric vehicles and associated charging is new and there is a lot of misinformation out there the simple fact is that all residents will benefit from a greater number of electric vehicles on barnet's roads there are clear economic benefits a recent survey showed that around 80 of jolt customers spend in local shops whilst they are charging boosting the high street and local economies jolt promotes local businesses and charities through free advertising on screens this will be offered to all the businesses along russell lane jolt is already supporting charities and organizations such as the arts depot nor finchley and local independent businesses in temple fortune and mill hill to quote a local business owner in barnet since advertising on jolt screens we've seen a big increase in our business and the numbers through our doors we'd never have been able to afford this sort of advertising their presence is really making a difference barnet has rightly set ambitious carbon reduction targets and with 41 percent of emissions coming from transportation jolts can make a significant contribution towards these targets we hope members agree that the applications before them promote sustainability and green economic growth and can support the officer's recommendation for approval thank you for your time and we'd be happy to answer any questions thank you now i know that so the job charges are being you've identified sites and almost always not all wards in the borough and they're coming piecemeal to this committee at least two of us have had these installed in our wards already with more or less number of objections and concerns so this is another one that that on the face of it seems to have fewer concerns than than those in our in our particular wards so are there any further questions councilor roberts i just want to ask how long does it take to install these things and how disruptive is in terms of cabling and what else needs to be installed with it yeah that's a very good question it's very much down to um uk power networks and where the point of connection is obviously some installations are more straightforward than others where it's where the point of connection is close but i guess we'd hope to you know really do it within a week yeah five five working days um well i think once once again it's dependent on the point of connection obviously there's there's less disruption um for example if you you know don't have to cross a road for example so if it's in the existing pavement line that's that's very straightforward um but in many ways we're dictated to by uk power networks on where we connect to it's not it's not up to us we're unfortunately we get told by uk power networks where we have to connect the questions about a very minor question the this unit will just charge one vehicle is that correct that that's correct just one vehicle double check okay no further questions thank you very much thank you uh any questions to the officers yes kasler conway is it is it with an ev bay only or is it just for the charger uh well the application doesn't consider the designation of the bay understand from previous applications that have come before the committee that that's part of a separate uh some series of discussions with the highway authority to then go around and demarcate the bays um afterwards but it's not part of this planning application as such okay thank you um now there are two applications this one for installing installing the equipment and the other for using it for advertising do we have to take votes on those separately or i mean that they rely on each other we can't we can't if we if we vote for one and not the other then they don't go through we take them separately okay so we will go to the for the first one down here is item 12 which is for the uh no that's the item 13 i think is is should we go for first which is installing the equipment for pre-charging that if that makes sense yeah for the installation so the officers recommend approval those in favor of approval that's all and the other item for use of it for advertising that's and that's approved as well as those two items are approved and we now move on we're doing really well this evening move on to i think the final item torrington court so the final item is torrington court and torrington park in north finchley it's an existing development with three blocks of flats and the proposal is to create five additional flats on the roof two of the blocks will have the existing pitched roof converted to a crown and dorm windows incorporated to provide flats and the larger block will have a whole new floor with a pitched roof added to provide additional flats to that block so this is the site it's not working this is the site here so these two blocks are two stories high at the moment and this one is three that's an aerial view and some site photographs so the side elevations of the two smaller blocks front onto the road block a at the back is the one that's higher but it is set well back from the street frontage and the bottom right shows the rear elevation at the moment and the communal garden area you'll notice this existing external fire escapes those are going to be removed as part of the proposal and the existing flats will be given juliet balconies on the rear elevations uh some more photos those are the existing ground and first floor plans the existing second floor which is only at the moment on the block at the back and the existing elevations showing the relationship with neighbouring properties the property on the left hand side is actually a listed building it's one of three properties that are listed and the existing elevations and sections and again that shows the fire escapes to the rear which are going to be removed so the proposed block plan shows the frontage area which is currently used for sort of haphazard parking there's a block of garages around the back which don't actually form part of this application site and they're not used by residents they're used for storage according to the applicant so the proposal includes the provision of additional parking laid out at the back to serve these new flats the proposed ground and first floors part of the works involves internal alterations to lobbies around the staircase to ensure that the staircase is compliant as an escape stair given the existing external stairs are being removed but that's all internal work that's a new proposed second floor so you've got two flats in each of the sorry two flats on the block at the back at at this level and one flat in each of the two lower blocks at the front and then the additional flatter within the roof space of block a which is the one to the rear so you can see looking at the roof plan there are no dormers facing the neighboring properties at to the sides the dormers for the front blocks are inward facing facing each other and the other block a block a has normal windows within the rear elevation but that is some distance from the rear boundary so there's no concerns over overlooking from those windows that's a more detailed roof plan and the proposed elevations the red outline is the existing building so you can see the increase in height provided to the larger block at the back and then the smaller blocks which are actually not increasing in height they're just increasing in the shape in the shape of the roof which will be slightly increased to create more of a crown roof and some other elevations and that's the location in context within the street so as those two blocks at the front aren't actually increasing in height they're just increasing in terms of the pitch to create the crown roof and the block that is having the increased floor is set well back from the street frontage so the proposal officers consider is is in keeping in in this part of the street the increased height to the rear is not considered to be particularly overbearing given how far it's set back there's no increase in footprint the fenestration changes are acceptable in terms of their appearance and given the relationships of the building to the neighbors and the fact there are no normal windows on the side elevations that would overlook the neighboring gardens there's considered to be no adverse impacts on the neighboring amenities and the application is recommended for approval thank you thank you we have no speakers on this one so i'll ask the agent for the application to come forward thank you if you can turn the microphone on there's a face picture face that's it let's introduce yourself you have five minutes to speak and if you give me a warning when you have one minute left thank you good evening committee my name is Oliver virtual from brooks mary architects i am the architect for this this application the scheme submitted for your consideration is a simple development which represents a sustainable way of delivering housing and optimizing the potential of a previously developed site the current proposal is a result of constructive engagement with your officers which started with a pre-application meeting over a year ago we've worked closely with your officer to make suggested amendments to our design including a reduction in the massing of the proposal to protect the surrounding streetscape and neighboring amenity the revised scheme with its reduced scale and number of units is here tonight with full recommendation for approval from your officer we appreciate that some neighbors have concerns with regard to the application we have a chance to review those applications and acknowledge that some of them are rightly understandable development control worries including privacy overlooking and overshadowing however your officer has exhaustively examined each of these concerns and concluded the impact of the proposal on its immediate surrounding falls within acceptable limits other residents are understandably concerned about noise and disruption caused by the construction works my client is an experienced developer who has successfully undertaken many similar schemes across north london and if the application is successful a construction management plan will be submitted for approval under condition my client's team will continue to engage with residents to constantly ensure that they are consulted and kept informed and works slightly across to um i noticed uh i've heard via by the officer that there was some comments about the removal of fire escape stairs the existing flaws on block a which is the the taller of the blocks is to be adapted to as per the submitted drawings to include protected lobbies with double doors at each entrance to each unit and this will ensure that the main stair of the primary block is a fully compliant fire escape stair with venting windows going forward this solution is much safer for residents than using external staircases which are obviously susceptible to getting wet and therefore slippy thank you in summary the scheme represents a good represents an opportunity to provide five new good quality homes without any long-term harm to the amenity of existing residents the proposed scheme will also give our client the opportunity of enhancing the existing state estate for example through the provision of dedicated waste stores which the building does currently doesn't have secure cycle parking for both new and existing residents as well as enhanced landscaping thank you thank you any questions um i'd just like to ask a little bit more about removing the fire escapes and you've mentioned that so can you confirm um that this this meets fire regulations that what what are the arrangements because only one staircase and one exit for people to escape so um on the large on the larger of the blocks which obviously um poses the most uh danger if you will the um submitted plans have um the addition of an additional lobby to each of the units all over the building so that you uh as you're escaping you go through two doors two sets of doors which prevents smoke from flats getting into that lobby uh which with the stairs in it the stairs then have a um have windows all the way up which vents the smoke out so that that that if that staircase that comes all the way down the building will be a safe way to escape the building um we had we did discuss that the the removal of the removal of the the fire escape stairs with your with your officer and and we originally had them remaining as balconies um we've then because they were not satisfied that was a good solution we've reduced them back to to juliet balconies as i said at the moment they're not they're not um they're not a particularly safe way of escaping from a building okay so you have you have reports from the fire service that this isn't approved um we we we have used you know we're um we we do a lot of this form of development we have um our target obviously will be will be the um compliance with part b of the building regulations at um building control stage what we have designed allows us to fulfill that duty and we will obviously be seeking building control approval when we when we get back i mean clearly you know fire is a major concern absolutely this is a nobody large one but we have had fires in in smaller blocks in bonnet as well so no no this is one thing one of the other comments on the objections was about the removal of trees i think there may have been trees that were removed before that are now going to be replaced i'm not sure if you can comment i can't speak for what's happened um prior to to my involvement in this scheme from from 2021 then there i think there were trees at the front of the front front of the site which i believe were lay land eyes so not particularly high quality you will see on our drawings you can see just up there that at the front of the site we're proposing to bring back some landscaping and i believe your office has conditioned a a full landscaping scheme which which will certainly enhance the area no trees are being removed for this not past this application thank you councillor calick sorry this question is just for my education i was always told to believe that um that leaving windows open where events open fuels fires and yet you're saying it's there to um let the smoke out so i'm a little bit confused on that point so the the the theorem would be that if there was a fire in a flat in the building the additional lobby that we've added to the building would stop that smoke getting into the fire sorry into the staircase beyond and because the staircase has existing had windows that are open all the way up that's that staircase will a be prevented by that lobby from from filling with smoke and if for whatever reason it did any smoke that goes into that staircase will rise up the staircase and straight out the windows on the outside of the building does that make sense uh i i could refer you to to the to the part of them in this with this building would become what's called a small single stair building in the building regulations and it would be compliant with that with that um building regulation that's i mean that that's why we've brought those lobbies into these into these buildings into this building to to fulfill our duty under the building regulations to to ensure that there's a a safe means of escape for these blocks for this block of flats given the exchange that's just occurred about the removal of the escapes and how fire risk continues to be mitigated it might be useful to hear briefly from the officer to clarify that of course the internal matters would be a matter for building regulations but just to reassure members for the record before a decision is taken the officers should briefly clarify yeah any other questions for the yes so if if officers could clarify about when this meets fire regulations for fire escapes with their external fire escapes well obviously we as part of the planning process we don't deal with building regulations so we've been told that the works they're proposing internally will make the internal staircase suitable for being used as an escape staircase by the measures that the agent just talked about so if that is the case and it's then complying with building regulations then it's not a matter that we need to be concerned about and there's no requirement for a fire statement um as per government policy because the building's not it's not 18 meters high so it doesn't need to to go through the formal process of having the fire strategy approved which is different for high-rise buildings four floors is quite high to jump out of the window if you think i'll get it is but in terms of sort of national requirements it has to be an 18 meter high building to require the additional submission of additional statements so chair i was concerned about this also and my my understanding is now that correct me from if i'm wrong um to the planning officer that the escapes having been removed building regulations have satisfied themselves that the internal staircase is sufficient to allow for escape and some of the other documentation is not required i just wanted that noted for um clarity on the record that this has been considered that it's been taken care of elsewhere through building regulations particularly given the removal of those structures and i think that clarification has been given now i think i think the agent said they haven't people don't apply for building control approval until they've got planning permission so but he's obviously if he's experienced he's done these kind of with this work before he's clear i mean if for some reason they do have to change the plan and that has a material change on planning permission they'd obviously need to come back to to vary their planning permission so as far as i understand fire safety is is i think it's dealt with by building ricks yes this particular application okay thank you very much no other comments or concerns we'll go to the vote on this one the officers are recommending approval all those in favor of approval that's all that application is approved thank you very much um now the next meeting is in is there only two weeks i think on wednesday the 9th um so we're proposing site visits on tuesday the 8th if that's suitable colleagues and we'll probably we'll have the virtual briefing on the same day but that's to be confirmed but certainly site visits on the tuesday yes if that's not cancelled that's that's that's yes that's yes that's on the tuesday street yeah yeah all at once okay thank you very much

Transcript

Everybody, thank you for attending. It's seven o'clock now so we're going to start the meeting. I'm Councillor Claire Farrier, the chair of this planning committee, so thank you all for attending and I will now ask members of the committee to introduce themselves and then the planning officers and the legal officer and governance officer. So start with you Councillor Roberts. Do you all hear me sorry? Yeah I thought someone. You don't need that twice. Councillor Richard Barnes. I'm Mark Springthorpe. I'm one of the planning managers. I'm Lesley Feldman, the other planning manager. Jonathan Mills, planning manager, Patrice. Suzanne Yildiz. I'm the legal advisor to committee this evening. Carina Dimitriou, governance officer. All right, thank you. Now we ask that you remain seated during the meeting unless you're coming to the table to address the committee. Please note that the meeting will be recorded and broadcast as allowed for in law and by the council, so by attending either in person or online you may be picked up on recordings. So our recordings are covered by our privacy notice and that can be found on the website bonnet.gov.uk. Now for each application the planning officer will first present the applications, then each speaker will have three minutes to address the committee and the governance officer will inform you when there is one minute left. After that the members of the committee will have the opportunity to ask questions of the speakers and then of the officers and we will then discuss and the committee will determine the application and I will announce the committee's decision after that. So when you come to the table we'll ask you to turn your microphone on which will help you with if you can't see the button to turn it on with and we can only have one microphone on at a time to ensure no feedback. So going on to the agenda now. The minutes of the last meeting and members read that, approve that, five minutes. Absence of members, I think all members of the committee are here this evening. Do any members have any interests to declare? No that's right, dispensations granted by the monitor officer, there are none. An addendum has been published and sent out to all members, I hope you've all seen that and officers will refer to what's in the addendum when they present each item. So we're going to move on to the first proper item on the agenda which is the Thomas Watson Cottage Homes in Leecroft Road in Barnet. I'm going to ask the officers to present that. Good evening councillors, the application for you tonight has come before committee because there's implications on the decision on the public purse. The application is to fell four London plane trees and to reduce two oak trees by around six and five metres. This is the site plan and the protected trees here. This is the protected oak tree one and the protected oak tree is this one here and the protected London plane trees are located within this group here and this group there. This is the aerial view of the site, there's the oak tree. The implicated houses are just these two here, the 11 and 12 Leecroft Road and the London plane trees are located here. This is the applicant site plan which shows the location of the damages on the properties which are all located towards the London plane trees which are six and seven there and ten and eleven here, sorry eleven and twelve which are those two there and the affected properties is that one there. T13 is the other oak tree here and that's T1 the oak tree. This is the site photographs, this is T1 which is a large mature and established oak tree. These are T7 and 8 which are the oak trees here, sorry London plane trees, these two here and these are 11 and 12 which is these two trees here and this is T13 the oak tree there. The damage occurring in the property can be seen quite readily with cracks down the walls around the windows and there by the windows there which is typical for general subsidence cases and it's also visible outside the property just here by the windows and then just around the base of the bay window. There's no relevant history for the trees and these properties in the past although there was movement that was being repaired in 2013 and 14. Our engineers have looked at the application and have concluded that the London plane trees are directly implicated in the movement. He also asked for DNA samples but London plane trees are clones so they're genetically similar so a DNA sample wouldn't be beneficial so it's likely that of those four plane trees one or all of them are affecting the properties. They also agreed a possibility of root barrier would be a feasible mitigation for the movement and the key considerations that the evidence provided is that the London tree roots have been identified underneath both properties in causing the damage. There was no oak trees found oak tree roots found underneath the properties but the applicants have decided to take precautionary measures to provide to reduce the trees and then the cost if the application is concluded that the evidence isn't sufficient there's maybe an excess of £105,000 compensation costs may be liable to the council. So the recommendation is based on the evidence provided to whether the remedy of subsidence on the basis of the information provided. Thank you. Thank you. We have no speakers on this item and I don't think the applicant is speaking either. So do members have any questions? Councillor O'Connor. Thank you. In your opinion would a root barrier be as effective as removing the trees? They can be yes. So the root barriers effectively are three to four meter deep trench dug around the affected properties and then they insert a copper barrier that seals completely separates the trees from the properties. But from from the evidence that you've described would sound to me like there's no evidence that the oak trees are causing problems so my inclination would be to leave them alone. Would it be a possibility to reduce the crown of the the plane trees? Would that that's not what the application I know that's not what yeah would that be another alternative? I know that's not what the application is. The problem with doing that is the insurance companies and the thing is it has to be done on a repeated basis so and then to make a meaningful difference to have to reduce 50 to 60 percent of the whole crown of the tree which should then render the tree with virtually no visual amenity and so it's perhaps if you're going to do that it's perhaps better to remove the trees in totality and plant more appropriate species. Okay thank you. Mr Roberts? No thank you chair. That site has a substantial number I don't know how many I've never counted but substantial number of mature trees there and particularly remove those four plane trees would would very much alter the perspective of that estate is that not the case? It would have an impact on the visual character of the estate but they were planted as part of they appear to be planted as part of the landscaping and and they don't predate the development itself so they're sort of part of the landscaping of it. Those London plane trees have a capability to grow to 25 30 meters tall so eventually and they're growing quite close together so at some point they'll need some intervention anyway for our bicultural reasons. Bearing in mind the trees came off to the building and the buildings are quite old would you consider the foundations of the building to be adequate? The the buildings were built in 1905 somewhere around then so the issues around subsidence and clay soils wasn't considered so the buildings were built to stand of a traditional standard at the time they were built. Thank you there's no more questions or comments we'll go to a vote now we're asked to either approve this application or refuse the application as you can see on there so all those in favor of approval three and refusal three so that's that's three for refusal three for approval so the chair has a casting vote and I vote to refuse this application so this application has been refused and we now move on to the next item which is East Barnet school all right okay so this application relates to the installation of flood lighting to the existing sports pitch to the south side of East Barnet school the pitch sits atop a plateau surrounded by an embankment and enclosed by semi transparent fencing predominantly three meters in height rising to five meters along the ends with additional ball netting behind the goals at around eight meters or so as a result of the embankment the surrounding adjoining properties sit at a lower level however the scheme has been amended to cite the single flood lights along the sides and increase the number of lights on the end columns to two so it was previously reversed containing the light more effectively and reducing the amount of light spill behind the goals the scheme has also been upgraded to incorporate maximum cutoff louvers and maximum nine degree tilt which will also mitigate the impact with deliberate reference to the level change to the surrounding properties the proposal would support the operation of the school and the associated community use including the corollary health benefits in accordance with the ambitions of the core strategy and the ecology officer has sustained no objection as such the proposal is recommended for approval thank you we have two speakers Costas Nicola and Emma Godley so I think I've got Costas Nicola speaking in objection if you'd like to knit so Nicola Costas is it Costas Nicola or Nicola Costas I'm not sure Costas Mr Nicola hello I believe you're objecting so if you take a seat okay thank you and then if you can turn the microphone on there's a face picture at the bottom do you see that the face speaking face there can you press that press it yet I just pressed the face the picture of the face below you might need to come and show you something that's difficult to see it no that's it that's it that's on and then you'll have three minutes if you introduce yourself you have three minutes to speak and we'll let you know when you've got a minute left okay hello I'm here to represent the views of the majority of local residents who are strongly opposed to this proposal initially I should stress that we residents we are tolerant reasonable citizens and local neighbors of the school but we have genuine concerns and we hope that these questions and concerns are going to be as follows which I'm going to read to you firstly we have the big concern about noise pollution residents are very worried about the anti-social noise that will come from this proposal which would disturb our bright to peaceful enjoyment in our homes we already experience excessive noise daily during every school day during the evenings and at weekends when this pitch is in use and this proposal would dramatically increase that secondly a lack of data there is uncertainty about future noise and light pollution levels how have current noise levels been evaluated for this application and what measures will be taken to monitor the noise levels to ensure compliance with legal standards next illumination times residents oppose the proposed illumination times if the proposal was to go forward reducing operating times for the lights would be essential and we would request clear documentation on those changes the school starts generating intrusive noise from 8 30 on weekdays and 9 a.m at weekends your this proposal would mean that residents have to tolerate noise up to 12 and a half hours a day during the week and seven hours a day at weekends there is no volume control or switch off button when there is noise on the pitch and 22 people are running around the only way to control that would be to reduce the hours the lights would be on next light pollution flood lights will be intrusive to our property and our way of life with light spillage in our back lanes gardens and homes the lighting is shown to some extent to mitigate light pollution but as we know there will be still still be light spillage bright light and intrusive green glow from the pitch generating pollution given post proximity of our homes how can this be acceptable lastly community engagement many residents feel sidelined by the school what measures will the school take to include resident views if the proposal moves forward such as joint review groups or site visits we understand that both the school and the sports club would be operating on this site this is a community school in the residential area and dual use of the site in this way would cause excessive disturbance in conclusion the majority of residents firmly oppose the proposed flood lights due to significant concerns about noise pollution insufficient data current future impacts and intrusive light spillage we urge the committee and the school to address these concerns thoughtfully before any decisions are made residents deserve to have their voices heard and considered in this important matter in our daily lives thank you thank you uh first of all listen the glove could you say exactly where you live i live in richway avenue sorry one of the houses at one of the end of the pitches on the left or the pitch can we point out is that your unit probably close to the the end of the penalty area on the goal mouth on the left just about there okay and you're talking very much about noise which we we do appreciate but how much noise are you hearing at the moment up until four o'clock every day from the pitch and well from the pitch on school grounds we obviously hear um when the kids are out on morning breaks when they're out at lunch break um they're out playing running around so we put up with that because we live near a school and we appreciate that is that is that on the pitch or is that just general that's on the pitch and in the grounds when the kids come out of breaks and then after school we can hear kids running around doing things and then i think up to three days during the week the pitch is in use in the evenings during the summer and sometimes that is quite excessive but the worst of it is at the weekends on a saturday and sunday morning in in summer literally we're not able to open our windows are going to the garden because there is screaming and shouting and quite a foul language sometimes which we've complained for school and schools plus about several times right yeah i mean i hope that school might have might discuss that with you i mean clearly that is a nuisance but of course that will continue whether or not there are floodlights there well yes the only time we get the really uh a graceful of peace from that is during winter when it's pitch black and it's peace and quiet and we can sit back and enjoy it if these lights come in we'll literally have this going up to every single day of the year okay thank you any other questions yes council conway sorry do you know what the distance is from the end of your house until the beginning from the end of our garden to the actual pitch of the fencing is probably i would say roughly about 20 to 25 meters thank you no oh Councillor Roberts um just funny are you aware the school it is is or has planted trees kind of first small kind of trees at the top end certainly the top end i didn't see further down at the top end where it's next to the school premises i think which when those trees grow up they will provide shelter from noise and light coming from those pitches well i don't i don't really think that would excessively or reduce any noise or whatever because it's an open area it's a it's the size of a full football pitch and it's open all the way around i don't think that would reduce noise much in my opinion but the trees are on their fence line so as they as they grow up they will provide a barrier i don't think they'll provide a barrier with 22 grown men or teenagers running around playing a football match we're literally in our house we can stand in the bedroom and even with windows closed sometimes the noise is excessive and unbearable even with windows closed at the weekend okay thank you the picture we've been shown of what the site will look like with lights shows the light is only on the football pitch it's based on your speech and the paper here you disagree with that yes what that's based on well because obviously you will get a green glow from the lights going onto the pitch you'll get a green glow flowing in the atmosphere in the in the area thank you i think that's all the questions thank you very much and now we've got emma godley speaking in support of the application thank you thanks for having me thank you and again your microphone is on already you'll have if you introduce yourself then you have three minutes to speak and you'll be given a warning when's one minute left thank you thanks for having me today um unlike most the majority of those who have objected to this application i live on day land and i back on directly to the asbro pitch i moved to that location with an 11 month old baby and an eight-year-old child was i concerned about the noise and the profanity coming from the school yes of course absolutely i was however other redeeming factors outweighed that and i chose to move to my home behind the school despite those concerns nine years later and now with the nine nine and 17 year old having been through the toddler young and now older child and teenage stages we are a family who spends a lot of time outside and in our garden have my worries been justified no absolutely not yes there is occasional profanity however i emphasize the word occasional you do expect that with humans they swear sometimes the sounds of children playing or should i say teenagers playing of kids football clubs at the weekend of the occasional adults who already use the astro weeknights sometimes in the dark are joyous happy and enthusiastic sounds it sounds of adults teenagers and children who are passionate about kicking a ball around and burning off some energy while keeping both physical and mental health engaged these sounds are delightful they're not overly loud just a happy healthy healthy cheerful hum with regards to potential overspill light i don't believe that i it will have negative impact on my own home or garden nor that of my behind the astro neighbors many of whom are also supportive of this application however have not necessarily made a supportive notion on their application i welcome increased use of the facilities into the evening hours and strongly believe that amateur and social athletes will only add as a security deterrent helping to keep our home safe to be completely transparent as well as being a direct neighbor to the astro i also work at the school and i'm a parent of a year 13 student at east barnet and a year five pupil who probably will choose east barnet as his secondary choice east barnet school has a fantastic p.e department who are passionate about engaging our children in sport and activity i for sure fully support that drive and i trust that the committee today will see that the benefits to our community far outweigh the worries that some people may have worries much like my own nine years ago when i moved to my home on dane land that will prove to be unjust thanks for listening to me thank you i mean could you as well point out exactly where you live on the plan yeah so i'm i'm 80 day land if you see the astro on the right hand side i am the building that runs directly parallel to the top to the north side of the astro yeah pretty much in that circle at the bottom of your circle that you're making that's it that's me and my back fence is about four to five meters from the astro fence so your yes your house and your gardens are quite close to it very close yeah okay thank you any other questions counselor roberts just want to establish from what you said you don't find it disruptive at the present time not at all i think it's a lovely sound kids playing and adults went the pitch sometimes in the evenings it even that it's a lovely sound just men women kids having fun running around they're they're playing sport they're not they're trying to vandalize anything or they're not taking drugs or drinking i personally don't think so i've had a good look at the plans and the lights i'm familiar with football pitches i go to a few of them myself with my nine-year-old boy the lights are very focused there's barnet gate barnet gate astro 4g pitch on barnet gate lane and those floodlights are very focused there's no overspill onto the surrounding area i don't you know i will see the lights from my house but i don't believe that they're going to be coming into my territory in any in any sense of that do you any other no i mean i uh yeah scout's mechanic sorry um due to the nature of of the incline so um the incline is from the school falling away to the pitches yeah so there's a difference in height level yeah how do you think the the lights will affect your property because you're at the you're at the lowest end yeah well i guess that puts them more in my highline than people who are at a higher end but i don't think that it's going to affect my mental health or anyone in my household or in my neighboring houses i think we'll see them just like we can see excuse me just like we can see the the domestic lights on the other side of the astro now of people who live on ridgeway we can see their lights i'll be able to see these lights they'll just be a little bit closer and maybe taller but i don't feel like that should override the opportunity for more people in the community to look after themselves thank you any other questions the speaker no thank you very much thank you and then we have claire blondon who's down here is the agent yes is there a representative from the school yeah we've got claire blondon's name down here but if you can introduce yourself and then again you're 15 minutes sorry five minutes three minutes to speak hello i'm helen chamberlain i'm the school business leader at the school the school wish to request planning permission for the installation of floodlights to enhance the use of our facilities for both our students and the wider community the main driver is that they will enable an extended enrichment offer for students throughout the year increasing their physical and mental well-being students well-being is one of our top priorities and unfortunately many of our sports clubs have to be curtailed in the winter months because of the poor light limiting the free local and vital student enrichment activities that are accessible to all in 2020 the government invested in a national drive to encourage schools to open up their facilities for the benefits of communities and to enable schools to extend their facilities to sports and activity clubs also a condition of the redevelopment of this site in 2010 from sport england was that the school commit to making our facilities available to our local community we are a community school at all the outdoor clubs we currently let our facilities to our community groups offering sports activities to young people and adults the installation of floodlights would also enable the school to generate much further much needed funding to help with the upkeep and investment for the replacement of the astroturf which will in turn enhance the education and facilities available to our students the school building is now over 10 years old and we find that we need to update many of the facilities a priority being the astroturf prior to the application for floodlights the school is proud to say that it is not aware of receiving any complaints in respect of lettings related noise or other nuisance any complaints that we've received since the floodlight consultation have been investigated fully the school however acknowledges the issues raised by the local residents since we proposed this initiative an ecological survey has been carried out and as stated in the committee report any issues no the spill of light are mitigated through measures referenced in the lighting detail with regard to noise since opening the site in 2010 the school has had lettings averaging three nights a week during the summer months and during the day at weekends as per the application the school intends the use of floodlights for lettings for no more than three evenings a week no later than 9 p.m the school feel that measures taken together with restrictions on the timing of lettings are overall effective in ensuring that noise noise is not excessive we have a large car park which is available for use by lettings avoiding congestion and minimizing associated traffic noise the mitigation method measures as well as restrictive hours of use are considered to have an acceptable impact regarding lighting and ecology as confirmed by lighting and ecology officers noise impacts are considered to be adequately mitigated by the restrictive opening hours and would not lead to subsequent infrastructure impacts such as traffic and parking stress and would enable the use of the pitch in the winter months in line with existing youth youth the benefits to the school would be enormous thank you thank you um can i just confirm that the times of this we've got here that the flag lights will not be certainly lit after 9 p.m on weekdays and 4 p.m on weekends that's correct so i mean currently you know we're just past the mid-summer and evenings are starting to get but but currently how much are they used during those times during the times that would be affected by floodlights so at the moment we have lettings during the summer up to around three evenings a week a couple of them are no later than eight o'clock and then we do have football letting on a saturday morning into the afternoon so this might extend it to winter months but overall the impact you fear is that it's not going to be any greater than it is now no it will just get extended into the winter months so we're not we're not intending to extend the number of lettings that we currently have in the summer into the winter because we we want to ensure that we're supportive of residents and want to ensure that we're minimizing the impact as far as possible yeah i mean i asked this because clearly clearly we can't do anything particularly about the noise no that's not under planning but it's whether the installation of these floodlights will it will increase that nuisance um with regard to the nuisance that we've heard from from the ejector and there there are 45 ejectors i think saying the same kind of thing what kind of relationship do you have with local people they can come and complain and you'll take their concerns address concerns yes i mean as i've said in my um speech any um complaint that we've had has been fully investigated so there was a particular resident who was concerned and we've had a number of meetings with her the lettings company that we employ to kind of look after our lettings went around there on a saturday morning to kind of measure the noise the deputy head teacher who's been on site when there's been complaints has been down and we haven't found it to be excessive but obviously she's concerned and we've done as much as we can to kind of support that but as i said that that that those complaints came after we put our application in for the floodlights we hadn't received those complaints prior to that and we haven't had any change since really we opened in 2010 in terms of the number of lettings that we have during the summer and clearly we have a number of people in support as well as we've heard so yep thank you very much other questions counselor calick thank you um when we visited the school to to to see the site and to see the effect you would have on the neighborhood you and you erected large netting at both ends to stop walls going into people's gardens to alleviate their concerns should in the future there be major concerns of like could you put blackout screens on the other sides of the curtain but potentially if there are concerns and it's something that we can look at i mean as i as i explained when when you came this morning we are concerned about the neighbors we had an issue where the balls and it wasn't through lettings it was the student as they were playing football were going into one of the neighbors um gardens and was causing her distress so at our expense we arranged to have that netting put up so we're very responsive we want to do as much as we can but at the same time we want to ensure that our students are getting the best um offer that we can we can give them questions counselor roberts again on on the site visit just confirming there were some quite substantial tree plantations there which in in the fullness of time not not next year but but moving forward will provide protection from the light falling on the rear gardens yes absolutely yes and they were there planted for that purpose by the school yes all right thank you okay if there's no further questions thank you very much thank you any questions to the officers no otherwise we'll go straight to the vote then um the officers are recommending approval of this item almost in favor of approval that's all so this item has been approved and we move on now to the next item which is 21 Hampstead gardens thank you chair this application relates to 21 Hampstead gardens the conversion of an existing dwelling into three flats including part single part two-story extensions roof extension and other alterations to the roof and roof lights and associated amenity space refuse and cycle storage the extensions themselves have the benefit of a separate permission and as we saw on site this morning are currently being built on site that's the location plan the property is at the end of a cul-de-sac backing um onto hoop lane cemetery to the east so this is the that's the end property here this is the cemetery some site photographs um so that's the existing side access way to the onto the next the cemetery the front elevation this is the rear elevation so this is the boundary line here so this is a small extension at the neighboring property at ground floor level and this current existing two-story outrigger the existing elevations this is sorry this is the property here so that's existing and these are the existing side elevation the existing floor plans ground floor plan and the existing garden first floor plan and the roof sections these are the approved elevations for the extensions that are currently being built so this is the property here so this is the rear the that existing outrigger has been extended sideways coming no further rearward but to the side so main extension here two-story small dormer in the roof that's the approved roof plan so the proposed elevations are essentially the same at the rear and this is the front this is the extension here so the first floor is extended partly over the ground floor but retaining this passageway for access to the rear the proposed side elevation the dormer window which would overlook the cemetery the floor plans showing a family-sized five three-bed five-person unit at ground floor they'd have their own private garden here and the remaining garden is for allocated for the other two flats access down this side passageway there's no car parking existing or proposed on the front here and that would be the remain these are the bike stores and refuse areas which could be positioned on this part of the site you'll see in the recommendation that there is a proposal to have a legal agreement to restrict future occupiers from having car parking residents car parking permits within the cpz these are the proposed upper floor plans so there's a two-bed unit on the first floor and then a split level one-bed unit over this part of the first floor and within the loft the proposed roof plan and sections which show adequate head heights for all floors to provide decent amenity for the future occupiers so the main considerations are that the works with the exception of roof lights and the subdivision of the garden all have planning permission by virtue of a house extension application the application is compliant with the council's emerging and adopted policies in relation to flat conversions and officers consider it's acceptable in terms of the impact on the character of the property has set out in the report highways raised no objections subject to these 106 agreements restrict parking permits and approval is recommended thank you thank you we have two speakers on this item karin yet brand and atul monger either both of you there doesn't matter which order which one you wish to speak in can i is that my case uh yes you're mr monger yes thank you please do if you can take a seat um if you can introduce yourself and then you'll have three minutes to speak you'll be given a warning when you have one minute left sure thank you okay um i speak here on behalf of all the residents of the cul-de-sac i own number 17 which is part of the mid-terrace that's been impacted by this you will note that 18 of us had objected to this initially when the first allocation came up and when the delegated report of 14 january or 14 june was put up it simply referenced a part single part two story and all the references to three apartment blocks was taken away which appears to have been misleading at best and seems to have led people to believe that it is now just two apartments rather than three which is highly objectionable i think more importantly the proposal for conversion into family dwellings but in the absence of adequate parking very clearly does not encourage families to either own or rent such apartments and as we've seen in the houses that have been converted it clearly thanks to the in the creation of multiple kitchens and multiple bathrooms results in single occupants per whom becoming the predominant dwellers of of such conversions and it's fair to say that 1069 finchley road which has converted into apartment blocks this is the former police station which was converted and has no parking permission has had a lot of problem actually selling those apartments moving on based on the usage of the space between the cemetery wall and the current wall of the house of the terrace there is clearly if car parking is permitted there is clearly no possibility of a one meter space for people to pass through in case of an emergency leave aside even under normal circumstances to me and to the rest of us deciding on that road the reference to putting any kind of cycle parking is beyond bemusing because no no no house on the road that really has any cycle parking so it is really clearly likely to be misleading the conversion of other houses on the road should not be seen as a precedence because like i said it's used for purposes other than actually families being there and like i said the key thing for us is that the turning on that road the radius on the road for turning absolutely does not permit any extension on the side because it will only come at the expense of the current parking areas parking based on the road which defeats the entire purpose of actually not allowing additional parking for this house so i just struggle to understand how this complies with the standards okay thank you i mean with regards to parking there is a condition that occupiers of these flats would not be able to obtain a parking permit so that addresses the parking i would just like to clarify that the parking on that road is not restricted for all the 24 hours which means that after 6 30 p.m in the evening and before 9 30 in the morning there is no stoppage on anyone parking on that road this is very likely to encourage people to park on the road at the expense of existing residents and those that have cars on that road um yes i mean that this is aims that they're unlikely to be able to afford to to buy a car because they'll just park it during the day but that that is there that ameliorates that somewhat any other questions no we have no other questions for you thank you very much thank you and then we have the culling diasporan thank you and and again if you can introduce yourself then you have three minutes to speak yeah i'll try to be quick i wrote few words just to thank you not forget so i'm a house owner from the from dingwell gardens the parallel street and i've been living there for 18 years in the last few years we've been experiencing serious parking issues since the conversion of several houses on our street into two or three flats and hamster gardens became the only place for us to park our one car on most days also residents from neighboring streets are coming to park on our street as they have parking problems this is a consistent problem throughout the day and not only at night when the restrictions are not there so because we it's parking permits only until six six o'clock and then afterwards like the gentleman said anyone can park there on top of that bonnet council decided without consulting the resident to allocate two parking spaces for electric cars on all our small streets these are very small streets around us which means again less parking spaces for residents these are all small streets and the parking is very limited as it is increasing the numbers of homes will make it even harder for all of us and bear in mind that every household each household is allowed to have two parking permit permits and converting houses into flats in these small streets just means less car less parking and more stress for us we had few issues with neighbors over parking because they have three cars in one flat we have one car in a house and we own a house and we can't park our one house because they have three cars it's just it makes it very hard for all of us these are very very small streets and it's just making it very hard for all of us thank you okay thank you as i as i said to mr monger there is a condition that people who occupy these flats will not be able to have parking permits so if it's a single family house at the moment they can have two permits they won't be they won't be able to have any so there won't be four more permits will be generally i think converting flats into houses into flats on these small streets it's it's a problem yes no except that that is everywhere parking is problem everywhere so any other questions thank you thank you very much now we have the is the agent here i have your name is danielle sentier that's correct thank you chair thank you again if you can choose yourself you have three minutes to speak and give you an order when you have one minute left perfect thank you very much um good evening everyone and thank you for the opportunity to speak my name is danielle sentier um i'm a chartered member of the rtpi and the agent for the planning application um as you will have seen when you went out on site today um there are a number of householder extensions that have been recently consented and have been constructed or in the process of being constructed at the property um one of these is the the two story side extension which already looks to change the relationship between the property and the boundary particularly overlooking the um the cemetery the point about the turning circle is an interesting one because actually there is no sort of legal right over that land to be able to use it as a turning circle and the proposed two-story extension which is under construction at the moment is already going to change that ability to be able to use it for that purpose but what we spoke about earlier is in relation to the bin and bike stores if there's concerns around the location specifically of that there's a planning condition as well that if there's a condition that would allow us to move that or relocate that subject to planning conditions which could be assessed by officers at a later stage if there was a concern in relation to that with regards to turning of vehicles at the end of the road um i appreciate the concerns that have been raised by um by the objectors and the people that live on the road as been quite rightly pointed out by the chair the situation with the house as existing is it's entitled to two parking permits on the road the three flats as proposed would be entitled to no parking permits on the road at all so it would actually remove two of the permit holders from the road by way of this proposal if this were to be approved this evening so we hope that that would make the parking situation significantly better in relation to the policy position for this application your new policy ho u3 it specifically states that the council will optimize the potential for housing delivery through residential conversion and redevelopment of larger family homes if you go into that policy this thank you this site meets all of those criteria in terms of its location is its public accessibility transport rating as well so i find it hard to see that your council couldn't provide any more support for this type of subdivision of properties as it meets all of those identified criteria we're also looking to re-provide a three-bedroom property on the ground floor with a two-bedroom on the first floor and then a one-bedroom duplex in the loft so a real good mix of accommodation in this location which is also something that your local plan is seeking to provide the housing is sustainably located and will make optimum use of the site which was vacant for 10 years before it was purchased by my client so we don't want to end up in that situation for much longer the public right of access as well has been maintained so that we can we can ensure that that will continue to benefit the local residents you can see that that's been done through the inclusion of the archway which has already been built on site so i hope that that clarifies all of the points that have been raised but please let me know if you've got any other queries thank you thank you could i just ask do you know um how many other houses in that street are converted to flats to the best of my knowledge there are none that have been given planning permission explicitly however i'm aware that numbers five one five six and seven appear to have council tax records as though they have been perhaps converted earlier you know in the past so those properties appear to have been converted although albeit there was no planning permission explicitly for that purpose those are converted into two flats this is three i believe so i believe they're converted into two flats so three flats is rather larger than any others for that for that quite i mean the properties are all quite different along this road as well in terms of the size that's available to them um so there is enough you know there's more than enough space to be able to get a three bed a two bed and a one bed and all of them are all of them are exceeding the national space standards as well we've not made these small flats they are they're generously sized flats in accordance with the new london plan best practice guidance so we've made sure that they're suitable size so there is enough size there is enough square footage in this property to accommodate the the three flats that are proposed okay any other questions council roberts i just wanted to clarify it will be made clear to the occupants as when they're moving they have no parking rights there absolutely it would need to be so for anyone that was renting or purchasing these properties it would be marketed as such that there were no there was no ability to be able to gain a parking permit as part of their as part of their purchase or their rental so the previous speaker the objectors who very largely spoken about parking has been their concerns yeah of course as far as you're concerned that will not arise because there will be no parking spacing allocated with those properties there's no parking there's no permits allocated to those properties i'm aware of what what the uh objectors have mentioned in terms of the timings of the permits but they're even permitted at the weekend so how feasible is it that you're going to keep getting up and moving your car every time there's a restrict and where are you going to put it so i just i think if you are reliant on a car and you know that you can't get a permit in this location this probably isn't the location for you to be honest but there's plenty of people that are going to make use of the station the cycle parking that's available you know we're trying to shift towards more sustainable methods of transport i think there's plenty of people that would love to live in a location like this but that don't necessarily need to rely on a private car there's also a number of car club bays located nearby as well which people can rely on the other questions no thank you very much thank you shall i turn this off thank you any comments or questions for the officers yes can i just um ask about the amenity space um and uh how much space there is if if there are three flats on that side so the ground floor flat has this area here which i cannot read basically the the whole garden at the moment is about it's about eight by eight so 64 square meters um so i think the the ground floor probably has slightly under 30 square meters and the upper two floors flats have this area at the back here um which obviously is going to be well another third again over the size of the ground floor flat so it more than meets the standard for flats uh thank you and also that that diagram seems to suggest that the pavement is going to change which i assume it probably won't be because um at the moment as they were saying yes so this is the um that's the front the front wall of the properties this is the pavement if i just go back to the photograph the people have mentioned the turning circle um so as we saw on site this is the road and then it's a very small turning circle there's one on this side here and then you can see the double yellow line here that will stay the same so that won't change no so they can't do any develop over that part so the development has to take place back within the curtilage of the property um and then there was an equivalent double yellow line on the other opposite side on the other end property so it is a small turning circle but there is a slight area there that people can use to turn around okay thank you yeah i'd like to ask can you can you just clarify our policy for maintaining single family occupancy of houses and if if they are converted into flats um the the number of flats that each property should have so wonder you know two flats may be sufficient three flats may be too much in this property the emerging policy which is the one we need to go on really given it's kind of in a very quite advanced stage now is set out in the report to try and secure family housing and protect family housing there's a minimum size for a house that's to be converted so if it's less than 135 square meters we won't grant planning commission for flat conversion that's not the case in this with this one has to be within a p-tail of three or more which this one is or it has to be close to a town center but this is in a p-tail three area so that complies with the policy um all conversion applications have to provide a three-bed five person unit which this one does on the ground floor and then all other units should be 61 square meters and in this case they both are 61 or more square meters so they do meet the floor size criteria for the new policy the three flats here comply with our it complies with the new policy yes thank you any other questions comments and we'll go to the vote the offices are recommending approval all those in favor and against one not voting you're not one not voting so that application is approved and we move on to the next item which is Marwood court and Gradyton road this is an outline application to construct a third floor level to provide two one-bed flats on the top of an existing flat roof block also provision of off-street parking refuse recycling cycle storage for the whole block and new front access gates all items are to be considered as part of the outline except for landscaping which is the reserved matter so this is the site here at the end of Gradyton road off Ballard's lane opposite Victoria Park in Finchley central this is the block here as you saw on site the other side of the road is all housing terraced housing but this side of the road originally was all workshops and factories although there has been some residential development over more recent years this is the aerial photograph so that's the block here excuse me showing the relationship with the houses opposite the adjoining commercial buildings and the relationship with the properties here in Wentworth avenue and these properties down here are Wentworth park and that's the view from the other side photograph looking down Gunnison avenue so the site is on the left at the bottom down here that's the front elevation showing the existing commercial use next door so that's the building three floors with a flat roof and this shows the boundary with the rear of the gardens in Wentworth avenue and that's the view the other side so these are the existing floor plans the same on each floor and that's the existing elevations the existing proposed site plan so currently there's no bin store the bins were just left in sort this front area there is parking area at the back which but there's no formal layout for the car parking and this is a communal garden area which serves all the flats the proposal is to provide a gate here access into the sites to formalize the car parking sorry the cycle parking and the refuse storage within the front garden for all the flats and then to formalize car parking at the back here so the communal space here will be largely unchanged in terms of the garden area for the residents so that's the proposed rear and side so essentially a new crown roof is going to be formed on the top this is the side elevation and the rear elevation dormer windows in all the elevations here front and that's the front and side elevation so this is the one that you would see from the street the windows on this side here which will be the ones facing Wentworth avenue gardens are small kitchen windows and will be obscure glazed to prevent overlooking this is the proposed third floor showing two one-bed flats layout and the long section here so this is the the proposed so that's obviously the approximately existing height this is the new height it's only one and a half meters higher to the ridge than the existing and that's the Wentworth house so there it is slightly lower level here but this shows the distance of 30 meters 30 meter deep gardens to the properties in Wentworth and as i said the windows the dorm windows on this side here are obscure glazed to avoid overlooking nothing further to add thank you thank you we have one object mr k thank you mr k i'd like to confirm we have received your emails as well with your concerns and we have had a look at those uh again if you can put you put put the microphone on there's a button with the face on it you can see that um it's got a face on it near the bottom that's picture with the face okay three minutes to speak and you'll be given a warning when you have one minute left thank you very much indeed and good evening members um i'm actually here representing uh the neighbors so this my role is as an advocate on behalf of mr lester and the other neighbors who are here this evening um my name is danny k i'm a child surveyor and a member of the town and country planning association amongst other things i was born in barnet i've lived in barnet i've worked in barnet and i care about barnet i've been working in housing developments and urban regeneration for over 25 years i've worked on over 500 development regeneration projects including for seven years as the development director for a leading london housing association i now run a consultancy business aimed at promoting and delivering sustainable housing development as such i normally find myself advocating for new homes however this is a very this is a very rare example of the of the reverse i've been fully briefed by mr lester mr lester and neighbors and indeed have supported mark and others in in their objections barnet rightfully has an excellent track record of delivering high quality housing and indeed strong plans for significant new supply thousands of homes in key areas in other areas in barnet it is in this overall context that i believe this specific proposal is unnecessary inappropriate and is a rare example of a mistaken in my opinion application interpretation of barnet's own housing design and planning policies in particular i should draw your attention to the specific explicit wording contained in your 2016 supplementary planning document which is called the residential design guide proposals for new quotes proposals for new residential development should respond to the distinctive local building forms and patterns of development and respect scale mass and heights of the surrounding physical context i i don't believe this is the case the pre-existing building which no one can do anything about is an aberration predated the spd an extra story would definitely be out of keeping even if partly pitched in terms of scale and typology moreover the policy wording was designed to arrest further inappropriate additions of this data and i represent it do not demur from the housing needs yet in terms of the balance of harm the impact on all the neighbors of this additional story is out of keeping and uh how long do i have okay if i may i'd like to pass around this uh this photograph and just take issue with one of the slides that was up we're showing a tree um masking the uh the new build in fact this the reality of the situation is as you can see here effectively this area will be uh which is developed and will have a significant impact on the local character and suburban nature as defined in your own policies thank you thank you thank you questions um what i'd like to ask with with regard to that picture you showed from a garden so the current top floor is already overlooking the garden so yes this is the existing so other concerns is it's going to make it worse or it's going to make it worse significantly in what way if the garden so in terms of the overbearing and the over and the sense of being overlooked in the overbearing nature the impact on the gardens in in the area so if this is the distance the distance both between the building and the boundary and the building in the house i pick a pardon the distance between the building and the edge of the garden and the building of the house yes far exceed um the the minimum that should be i'm sorry i don't understand your point um the distance between between this building and the and the boundary of the garden and the garden yeah and more distance between that and the house yeah i understand and the breath of the committee report does make reference to distance but that is only one element there are a number of other policy references in your local plan in your emergent local plan in the sbt which actually counter that just a distance argument and i could quote from your own policies and i would i'm raising this because i do genuinely believe that this is inappropriate and will have an impact on the neighbors okay so but really the concern is just overlooking of garden the concern is overlooking the overbearing nature of the scheme the impact on the privacy or the sense of privacy and how that will affect the enjoyment of the gardens and the spaces uh that the neighbors currently enjoy the the pre-existing situation is not great but it is what it is you can't change that an additional story will have a material impact in terms of the sense of enjoyment and overlooking thank you uh castle barnes so and so if you get are you just representing people from wentworth avenue correct okay all right okay thank you okay thank you very much thank you uh and then we have the agent to henry i believe again you know you know how this works by now if you can introduce yourself to us then you have three minutes thank you chair and members um my name is joe henry and i'm the agent acting for the application like the speaking object i was born in barnet work in barnet live in barnet and care about barnet the application has been referred to this committee by council rich because he was concerned about a possible overlooking of gardens in wentworth avenue i did email council rich and he explained the windows facing the rear gardens of the properties in wentworth avenue are proposed to be obscure glazed to ensure no overlooking he kindly responded and said he did discuss the matter of local residents but the remain of the view that an extra floor impinges on their gardens as stated in your office report the proposed two proposed windows facing the rear gardens at wentworth avenue will be obscure glazed meaning there will be no overlooking i would also draw your attention to suggested planning condition number 10 which requires these windows to be obscure glass only and shall be permanently retained as such thereafter in respect of the impact the proposal has on the character and appearance of the area and the building itself i would comment as follows the application site forms part of a street which has a very mixed character of residential and commercial properties with varying designs massing and heights the proposal provides a crown roof extension on existing flat roof the existing flat roof block style building has limited architectural merit almost every other building within the road and indeed beyond in in wentworth avenue has a pitch roof the introduction of a pitch roof would significantly improve the design form of the existing building overall contributing positively to the character and appearance of the building and the locality it's also important to note the proposal seeks to provide two additional dwellings which will contribute to addressing the housing crisis something on which the new government has prioritized as their top priority thank you for listening i'll be happy to answer any questions you may have thank you any questions no it looks like you explained your style quite well thank you very much any comments or questions the officers Councillor Callick the existing height of the building includes a balustrade how much will the additional height how much additional height will be added by adding the pictures yeah this element here um is kind of a parapet around the existing flat roof so the additional height is about one and a half meters because part of that will be taken away to provide the the pitch so the oval ridge is not a full three meter high new additional floor it's um about one and a half meters higher to the top of the ridge thank you any further questions no then we should go to the vote the officers are recommending this for approval all those in favor of approval that's all so this application is approved thank you and we move on to the next one now which is forward side avenue good evening councillors this next application is forward side avenue concerning the demolition of the existing dwelling on site and the erection of a new building with the basement level to create six new self-contained flats this is the location plan of the site um you can see all right here's an aerial view um to the left there's a yellow star indicating the site and just to give you the context of the scheme the far right of the image is the finchley high road which is in the north eventually town center this is some photos aerial views you can see the opposite side of the applicant site has a variety of different buildings and building forms of flat roofs whereas the side that the applicant site is on is a more traditional um house form these are the existing elevations and the existing floor plans the proposed front and rear elevations so it's a two-story building with a crown roof form and at the bottom is a street scene image of how the building will appear amongst the neighbors side elevation the south side elevation facing the properties on woodside park road and the north side elevation facing number six woodside avenue section drawing there just illustrates the basement level and the light wells that are proposed there'll be a lower ground floor across lower ground and ground there'll be three duplex units so these are the ground floor units each of these units benefit from either a light well or a private rear garden amenity space two units at the first floor and one unit within the roof level here's the proposed site layout plan showing five parking spaces within the driveway at the front and a large communal garden at the rear so in summary officers have assessed that the principle of the conversion of the existing house and its redevelopment to be compliant with policy and acceptable the scheme would provide a good range of larger family-sized units with a good standard on accommodation and as to parking five parking spaces are proposed on site which has been again assessed to be compliant with policy the application is recommended for approval subject to conditions thank you we have four people listed of objectives we can only hear two so i don't know who is who is here now who would like to speak if you agreed which two are going to speak uh if you can turn the microphone on what's your name this is a picture of the face a picture of the face that's it that's it got it okay so are you on your neighbors right first of all my own are we just just who you are my name's rizwan koreshi sorry rizwan koreshi and i'm the resident of 56 woodside park road right yes thank you thank you if you can uh introduce yourself you have three minutes to speak you'll be given a warning when you have one minute left okay um my first point is that my understanding of the law is that it's got a built-in democratic factor every resident in the area has objected to this residence so i expect the committee based on this democratic principle to reject this development the other point i'd like to raise is from my point of view this application is invalid because it was wrongly validated by the planning department first of all they didn't have any scale or scale bar on their drawings secondly uh the site plan of the area is from 2016 it isn't the current uh site plan for the area so i failed to see with all these wrong informations how the planning department ever got to make that decision that or recommend approval for this scheme the other thing is in my view this contravenes council's own policies first of all i applied for planning application to my property which would have seen a first floor extension which was rejected i have no quarrel with that it was rejected that it was overbearing and it wasn't in keeping with the pattern of development on that street so this extension on four woodside avenue is going to result in a much much larger bulking than my extension was so i failed to see how the council can recommend uh this has been compliant with its own policies because they rejected mine this in effect is like adding a three-story extension to the existing property and it is huge uh that's my first point uh it's going to disrupt the development pattern of the street and if this application is allowed to carry on then what's to prevent every other uh house in that street becoming six flats i felt yeah a precedence will be set that's my thank you any questions no i think yes sorry to hear about your own problems with getting um i've got no problems with that i just i just well you brought it up so i just thought i thought i'd just ask you were you uh requesting to having a first for extension at the back of your property that's right yeah so that does differ to this this is on the side of the property no no no if you look at the development using the existing buildings as standard then the resulting bulk is a six meter three-story extension if you see what i mean no i don't see what you mean but um i have looked at the plans yeah it's uh it's uh it's outward projection is huge to the rear of the property on one floor no on three floors so we'll ask offices to clarify that with the planning offices any other questions no thank you very much um that so who else we've got three other names who else is speaking here just clarify that's okay with the other name and objectives that's no one else hoping to speak yes that's fine thank you and you you are i'll introduce myself good evening my name is mr chandok all right thank you yes i've lived in 12 oopside avenue since 1978 okay i'm just going to clarify you have three minutes to speak you'll be given a warning when you have one minute left fine thank you so basically i've lived in woodside avenue for 46 years in 1978 with my wife and i had two kids and then the third one was born in that house and there are six houses which are twins they're built by the same developer in 1945 number four six eight ten twelve and fourteen so when we purchased the house in 1978 they all looked like a tree lined detached houses on the right side and some victorian houses on the left hand side which were converted into flats recently one block was made of six flats without parking with 106 agreement and the other was 16 flats i don't know on what grounds they got it everybody objected but what we are finding now is that with this development they are going to change the entire connector of that street instead of detached houses we are going to start getting flats on the right side when we have none on the right side because there are six houses four six eight ten twelve and fourteen i'm number 12 since 1978 and number two excavation of the basement is going to threaten the foundations of all the adjoining houses because 1945 built houses are all having one meter deep foundations i did my own development my house was virtually back was demolished and done in 2002 and we made sure because of the crease at the back we had to go deeper foundations and with this excavation houses number four uh six eight and ten are going to be very badly affected and lastly it will be me as well at number 12 so we will have structural problems including subsidence and cracks in our walls because i've never seen any excavation in woodside avenue where you got a basement being done in the whole of woodside avenue i will ask you to check your planning records and the other question is basically parking is a nuisance now there's no space at all and as the previous applicants have pointed out to your good selves that basically people who even with 106 agreements they will try and use the resident parking spaces which are limited in the area between 6 p.m to 8 a.m in the morning and my only concern is that if i was right the gentleman was explaining there are two flats on the ground floor with basement two on the first floor that makes it four and one in the second floor but you're saying planning for six i don't know how the addition is done is it two two and one or is it two two and two that's my question to the planning officer and the parking should be minimum six to eight cars and i think there is not enough parking in the entire street you can't have two cars passing by parking on the left with single car only i had an accident on 22nd of november 2023 i nearly died my car was written off outside the new block of flats outside number four thank you thank you questions class roberts i'm just trying to understand where you're going are you against flats in principle my objection is basically it will change the character of the street totally already we have lost edwardian edwardian houses with big gardens converted into blocked two blocks of flat ones with six flats with section 106 no parking and the other one got 16 flats eight and eight they are on the corner of woodside park road and woodside avenue i had the accident outside there because the car came from the station and hit me at 50 miles per hour and the guy was prosecuted by the police and i'm waiting for my thing to be sorted on the high court for the injuries i suffered i'm sorry to hear about your accent but we're talking about the developments taking place in in the road you you say no flat should be allowed in that road that's my personal belief because already there's 22 flats down on that corner you can check your records if i'm wrong that was an edwardian house which was knocked down i know jeremy leaves told it and basically there's one block with six flats no parking and the other is 16 facts eight and eight joined together on the corner the planning officer will be best to answer that yeah so i can appreciate you saying that those houses are all the same but looking looking at the report um 16 to 18 woodside avenues that's next to where where you live uh that was allowed on appeal for for being demolished and there is precedent for this um but and and then 42 woodside avenue it's also been approved for conversion to five flats so there are precedents for this and and i know you're going to say that but also also i would say that from the design of this study large and there will be a basement which you have concerns about but otherwise it looks very similar to the the house at the moment so is that really going to affect the the impression of that row of houses number 16 and number 18 don't have any basements if i'm right they did they were not permitted any basement they wanted basement it was rejected on the first time second time they made it without the basement and they are not they are not detached houses so your the basement is the main concern definitely because it's going to affect the foundations of the existing six houses which are joining number four i'm number 12 i'm still four doors away rather than number six mr shah and number eight i think the vaswanis have sold out and somebody else has moved in number 10 the mr george they are very very concerned that's why they did not allow more than two speakers so we decided i would represent the people in woodside avenue and the gentleman my colleague will be representing woodside park road and there's a very strong objection i think there were over 50 objectors for that application and i'm i can't understand it obviously housing is needed but you're destroying the complete character of the street even number 16 and 18 have not started development i think they can't do the funding or something of the sort i know you permitted through the appeal about six or seven flats over there and there are two two properties which are joined together whereas this is a single one and you're permitting six flats which is an over development believe you me you try coming into that street i've been there 46 years and we love that area very very much okay thank you very much no no further questions thank you very much thank you um let me have the the agent the agent here i have garris stockbridge thank you mr stockbridge you have three minutes to speak you've given the warning when you have one minute left thank you good evening my name is garris stockbridge and i'm the agent for the application um we've been working closely with the planning department on this project for just over a year initially starting with pre-application advice which highlighted certain constraints and required amendment this was taken on board in the preparation of the subsequent formal planning application submitted in september 2023 since this time we have been in close contact with the planning department undertaking several rounds of amendments to address points raised during the consultation period and also changes in council policy as a result of this the matting of the proposal has been reduced and the number of units has also been decreased we have noticed several of the objection letters referring to the character of the road and the fact that the flats could affect this however as stated within the planning officer's report this issue was raised within the recent appeal decision at number 16 woodside avenue where the inspector decided that the character of the road had already changed drawing on references to other flooded developments that have been approved and constructed within the nearby area this has been followed up by subsequent planning approvals granted similar developers for similar redevelopment proposals within the road the proposed new building has been carefully designed to respect site constraints providing a stepped design to reduce impact on neighbouring properties the overall height has been set to keep the new building within the established roof line of the street we believe therefore that the scheme provides a high quality development of mixed accommodation sizes it conforms to planning policies and agree with the planning department that the application should be approved thank you thank you i just like to ask about the i mean you've you've commented that as i as i said that there are precedents with this um that the inspector has said that it's not out of character the difference with this one is is the basement yeah and the light well so i wonder if you could comment a little bit about the necessity for that the impact that that might have well the light the light well is set because of the depth of the front garden which is very deep the light well is set behind quite away from the pavement will be largely invisible it has planting around it so visually from the streets it would hardly be noticed the basement adds additional space it'll be built in accordance with building control structural designs and party wall awards which will be required if planning permission is consented thank you any further questions no that's all thank you very much thank you any questions the officers no so i think we're going to just go to the vote on that one the officers are recommending approval all those in favor of approval that's all thank you that application is approved i'll try and get through them all now that we're moving on to russell lane e-charger in russell lane okay so members are advised that this item has a corresponding advert app being heard in conjunction so i'm going to make just one presentation but then there'll be two votes subsequent to the discussion this application relates to the installation of an electric vehicle charging point on russell lane close to the junction with gallants farm road the unit will be situated on the outer edge of the broad pavement fronting the commercial parade servicing the first bay of the corresponding existing on-street parking the proposed unit will be 2.65 meters high and typical of those being rolled out across the borough by jolt in conjunction with the council the proposal will retain 3.5 meters of clear footway in line with the expectations of the tfl streetscape gardens and the disability act and the proposal is considered to be commensurate with the mixed commercial character of the setting and supports the rollout of net zero infrastructure in line with the strategic objectives of the development plan and is therefore recommended for approval thank you uh it's mr white here rub white's an object yes that you rub white right okay uh yeah the projector isn't here then yeah if you'd like to come speak then yeah so yeah you can introduce yourself and then again you'll have three minutes to speak be given a warning when you have one minute there thank you uh good evening councillors and everyone in attendance my name is patrick thomas and i'm the planning manager for jolt charge as you know jolt has been working in partnership with barnet council to deliver affordable on-street charging powered entirely by renewable energy to date we've installed 36 chargers which have delivered two and a half million clean miles to over 2 500 customers most of whom live in barnet the applications before you tonight are the culmination of months of hard work and considered site selection with your officers and stakeholders we are pleased officers have recommended the applications for approval and statutory consultees have raised no objections we would like to thank officers for their thorough report and collaborative working there are many benefits that flow from approving the jolt charger whether environmental social or economic it's worth remembering that electric vehicles benefit every resident whether they drive or not in barnet the car remains the principal mode of travel accounting for approximately 44 of all trips made barnet residents own 142 000 private cars which is the second highest level of car ownership in london approximately 4 000 deaths per annum in london are attributed to air pollution barnet has one of the highest rates with 201 deaths per year as a result in 2010 the whole borough of barnet was designated an air quality management area jolt is the only charging operator that provides a financial incentive offering 15 minutes of free charging equivalent to 30 miles for those without driveways to choose an electric vehicle we understand that electric vehicles and associated charging is new and there is a lot of misinformation out there the simple fact is that all residents will benefit from a greater number of electric vehicles on barnet's roads there are clear economic benefits a recent survey showed that around 80 of jolt customers spend in local shops whilst they are charging boosting the high street and local economies jolt promotes local businesses and charities through free advertising on screens this will be offered to all the businesses along russell lane jolt is already supporting charities and organizations such as the arts depot nor finchley and local independent businesses in temple fortune and mill hill to quote a local business owner in barnet since advertising on jolt screens we've seen a big increase in our business and the numbers through our doors we'd never have been able to afford this sort of advertising their presence is really making a difference barnet has rightly set ambitious carbon reduction targets and with 41 percent of emissions coming from transportation jolts can make a significant contribution towards these targets we hope members agree that the applications before them promote sustainability and green economic growth and can support the officer's recommendation for approval thank you for your time and we'd be happy to answer any questions thank you now i know that so the job charges are being you've identified sites and almost always not all wards in the borough and they're coming piecemeal to this committee at least two of us have had these installed in our wards already with more or less number of objections and concerns so this is another one that that on the face of it seems to have fewer concerns than than those in our in our particular wards so are there any further questions councilor roberts i just want to ask how long does it take to install these things and how disruptive is in terms of cabling and what else needs to be installed with it yeah that's a very good question it's very much down to um uk power networks and where the point of connection is obviously some installations are more straightforward than others where it's where the point of connection is close but i guess we'd hope to you know really do it within a week yeah five five working days um well i think once once again it's dependent on the point of connection obviously there's there's less disruption um for example if you you know don't have to cross a road for example so if it's in the existing pavement line that's that's very straightforward um but in many ways we're dictated to by uk power networks on where we connect to it's not it's not up to us we're unfortunately we get told by uk power networks where we have to connect the questions about a very minor question the this unit will just charge one vehicle is that correct that that's correct just one vehicle double check okay no further questions thank you very much thank you uh any questions to the officers yes kasler conway is it is it with an ev bay only or is it just for the charger uh well the application doesn't consider the designation of the bay understand from previous applications that have come before the committee that that's part of a separate uh some series of discussions with the highway authority to then go around and demarcate the bays um afterwards but it's not part of this planning application as such okay thank you um now there are two applications this one for installing installing the equipment and the other for using it for advertising do we have to take votes on those separately or i mean that they rely on each other we can't we can't if we if we vote for one and not the other then they don't go through we take them separately okay so we will go to the for the first one down here is item 12 which is for the uh no that's the item 13 i think is is should we go for first which is installing the equipment for pre-charging that if that makes sense yeah for the installation so the officers recommend approval those in favor of approval that's all and the other item for use of it for advertising that's and that's approved as well as those two items are approved and we now move on we're doing really well this evening move on to i think the final item torrington court so the final item is torrington court and torrington park in north finchley it's an existing development with three blocks of flats and the proposal is to create five additional flats on the roof two of the blocks will have the existing pitched roof converted to a crown and dorm windows incorporated to provide flats and the larger block will have a whole new floor with a pitched roof added to provide additional flats to that block so this is the site it's not working this is the site here so these two blocks are two stories high at the moment and this one is three that's an aerial view and some site photographs so the side elevations of the two smaller blocks front onto the road block a at the back is the one that's higher but it is set well back from the street frontage and the bottom right shows the rear elevation at the moment and the communal garden area you'll notice this existing external fire escapes those are going to be removed as part of the proposal and the existing flats will be given juliet balconies on the rear elevations uh some more photos those are the existing ground and first floor plans the existing second floor which is only at the moment on the block at the back and the existing elevations showing the relationship with neighbouring properties the property on the left hand side is actually a listed building it's one of three properties that are listed and the existing elevations and sections and again that shows the fire escapes to the rear which are going to be removed so the proposed block plan shows the frontage area which is currently used for sort of haphazard parking there's a block of garages around the back which don't actually form part of this application site and they're not used by residents they're used for storage according to the applicant so the proposal includes the provision of additional parking laid out at the back to serve these new flats the proposed ground and first floors part of the works involves internal alterations to lobbies around the staircase to ensure that the staircase is compliant as an escape stair given the existing external stairs are being removed but that's all internal work that's a new proposed second floor so you've got two flats in each of the sorry two flats on the block at the back at at this level and one flat in each of the two lower blocks at the front and then the additional flatter within the roof space of block a which is the one to the rear so you can see looking at the roof plan there are no dormers facing the neighboring properties at to the sides the dormers for the front blocks are inward facing facing each other and the other block a block a has normal windows within the rear elevation but that is some distance from the rear boundary so there's no concerns over overlooking from those windows that's a more detailed roof plan and the proposed elevations the red outline is the existing building so you can see the increase in height provided to the larger block at the back and then the smaller blocks which are actually not increasing in height they're just increasing in the shape in the shape of the roof which will be slightly increased to create more of a crown roof and some other elevations and that's the location in context within the street so as those two blocks at the front aren't actually increasing in height they're just increasing in terms of the pitch to create the crown roof and the block that is having the increased floor is set well back from the street frontage so the proposal officers consider is is in keeping in in this part of the street the increased height to the rear is not considered to be particularly overbearing given how far it's set back there's no increase in footprint the fenestration changes are acceptable in terms of their appearance and given the relationships of the building to the neighbors and the fact there are no normal windows on the side elevations that would overlook the neighboring gardens there's considered to be no adverse impacts on the neighboring amenities and the application is recommended for approval thank you thank you we have no speakers on this one so i'll ask the agent for the application to come forward thank you if you can turn the microphone on there's a face picture face that's it let's introduce yourself you have five minutes to speak and if you give me a warning when you have one minute left thank you good evening committee my name is Oliver virtual from brooks mary architects i am the architect for this this application the scheme submitted for your consideration is a simple development which represents a sustainable way of delivering housing and optimizing the potential of a previously developed site the current proposal is a result of constructive engagement with your officers which started with a pre-application meeting over a year ago we've worked closely with your officer to make suggested amendments to our design including a reduction in the massing of the proposal to protect the surrounding streetscape and neighboring amenity the revised scheme with its reduced scale and number of units is here tonight with full recommendation for approval from your officer we appreciate that some neighbors have concerns with regard to the application we have a chance to review those applications and acknowledge that some of them are rightly understandable development control worries including privacy overlooking and overshadowing however your officer has exhaustively examined each of these concerns and concluded the impact of the proposal on its immediate surrounding falls within acceptable limits other residents are understandably concerned about noise and disruption caused by the construction works my client is an experienced developer who has successfully undertaken many similar schemes across north london and if the application is successful a construction management plan will be submitted for approval under condition my client's team will continue to engage with residents to constantly ensure that they are consulted and kept informed and works slightly across to um i noticed uh i've heard via by the officer that there was some comments about the removal of fire escape stairs the existing flaws on block a which is the the taller of the blocks is to be adapted to as per the submitted drawings to include protected lobbies with double doors at each entrance to each unit and this will ensure that the main stair of the primary block is a fully compliant fire escape stair with venting windows going forward this solution is much safer for residents than using external staircases which are obviously susceptible to getting wet and therefore slippy thank you in summary the scheme represents a good represents an opportunity to provide five new good quality homes without any long-term harm to the amenity of existing residents the proposed scheme will also give our client the opportunity of enhancing the existing state estate for example through the provision of dedicated waste stores which the building does currently doesn't have secure cycle parking for both new and existing residents as well as enhanced landscaping thank you thank you any questions um i'd just like to ask a little bit more about removing the fire escapes and you've mentioned that so can you confirm um that this this meets fire regulations that what what are the arrangements because only one staircase and one exit for people to escape so um on the large on the larger of the blocks which obviously um poses the most uh danger if you will the um submitted plans have um the addition of an additional lobby to each of the units all over the building so that you uh as you're escaping you go through two doors two sets of doors which prevents smoke from flats getting into that lobby uh which with the stairs in it the stairs then have a um have windows all the way up which vents the smoke out so that that that if that staircase that comes all the way down the building will be a safe way to escape the building um we had we did discuss that the the removal of the removal of the the fire escape stairs with your with your officer and and we originally had them remaining as balconies um we've then because they were not satisfied that was a good solution we've reduced them back to to juliet balconies as i said at the moment they're not they're not um they're not a particularly safe way of escaping from a building okay so you have you have reports from the fire service that this isn't approved um we we we have used you know we're um we we do a lot of this form of development we have um our target obviously will be will be the um compliance with part b of the building regulations at um building control stage what we have designed allows us to fulfill that duty and we will obviously be seeking building control approval when we when we get back i mean clearly you know fire is a major concern absolutely this is a nobody large one but we have had fires in in smaller blocks in bonnet as well so no no this is one thing one of the other comments on the objections was about the removal of trees i think there may have been trees that were removed before that are now going to be replaced i'm not sure if you can comment i can't speak for what's happened um prior to to my involvement in this scheme from from 2021 then there i think there were trees at the front of the front front of the site which i believe were lay land eyes so not particularly high quality you will see on our drawings you can see just up there that at the front of the site we're proposing to bring back some landscaping and i believe your office has conditioned a a full landscaping scheme which which will certainly enhance the area no trees are being removed for this not past this application thank you councillor calick sorry this question is just for my education i was always told to believe that um that leaving windows open where events open fuels fires and yet you're saying it's there to um let the smoke out so i'm a little bit confused on that point so the the the theorem would be that if there was a fire in a flat in the building the additional lobby that we've added to the building would stop that smoke getting into the fire sorry into the staircase beyond and because the staircase has existing had windows that are open all the way up that's that staircase will a be prevented by that lobby from from filling with smoke and if for whatever reason it did any smoke that goes into that staircase will rise up the staircase and straight out the windows on the outside of the building does that make sense uh i i could refer you to to the to the part of them in this with this building would become what's called a small single stair building in the building regulations and it would be compliant with that with that um building regulation that's i mean that that's why we've brought those lobbies into these into these buildings into this building to to fulfill our duty under the building regulations to to ensure that there's a a safe means of escape for these blocks for this block of flats given the exchange that's just occurred about the removal of the escapes and how fire risk continues to be mitigated it might be useful to hear briefly from the officer to clarify that of course the internal matters would be a matter for building regulations but just to reassure members for the record before a decision is taken the officers should briefly clarify yeah any other questions for the yes so if if officers could clarify about when this meets fire regulations for fire escapes with their external fire escapes well obviously we as part of the planning process we don't deal with building regulations so we've been told that the works they're proposing internally will make the internal staircase suitable for being used as an escape staircase by the measures that the agent just talked about so if that is the case and it's then complying with building regulations then it's not a matter that we need to be concerned about and there's no requirement for a fire statement um as per government policy because the building's not it's not 18 meters high so it doesn't need to to go through the formal process of having the fire strategy approved which is different for high-rise buildings four floors is quite high to jump out of the window if you think i'll get it is but in terms of sort of national requirements it has to be an 18 meter high building to require the additional submission of additional statements so chair i was concerned about this also and my my understanding is now that correct me from if i'm wrong um to the planning officer that the escapes having been removed building regulations have satisfied themselves that the internal staircase is sufficient to allow for escape and some of the other documentation is not required i just wanted that noted for um clarity on the record that this has been considered that it's been taken care of elsewhere through building regulations particularly given the removal of those structures and i think that clarification has been given now i think i think the agent said they haven't people don't apply for building control approval until they've got planning permission so but he's obviously if he's experienced he's done these kind of with this work before he's clear i mean if for some reason they do have to change the plan and that has a material change on planning permission they'd obviously need to come back to to vary their planning permission so as far as i understand fire safety is is i think it's dealt with by building ricks yes this particular application okay thank you very much no other comments or concerns we'll go to the vote on this one the officers are recommending approval all those in favor of approval that's all that application is approved thank you very much um now the next meeting is in is there only two weeks i think on wednesday the 9th um so we're proposing site visits on tuesday the 8th if that's suitable colleagues and we'll probably we'll have the virtual briefing on the same day but that's to be confirmed but certainly site visits on the tuesday yes if that's not cancelled that's that's that's yes that's yes that's on the tuesday street yeah yeah all at once okay thank you very much

Transcript

Everybody, thank you for attending. It's seven o'clock now so we're going to start the meeting. I'm Councillor Claire Farrier, the chair of this planning committee, so thank you all for attending and I will now ask members of the committee to introduce themselves and then the planning officers and the legal officer and governance officer. So start with you Councillor Roberts. Do you all hear me sorry? Yeah I thought someone. You don't need that twice. Councillor Richard Barnes. I'm Mark Springthorpe. I'm one of the planning managers. I'm Lesley Feldman, the other planning manager. Jonathan Mills, planning manager, Patrice. Suzanne Yildiz. I'm the legal advisor to committee this evening. Carina Dimitriou, governance officer. All right, thank you. Now we ask that you remain seated during the meeting unless you're coming to the table to address the committee. Please note that the meeting will be recorded and broadcast as allowed for in law and by the council, so by attending either in person or online you may be picked up on recordings. So our recordings are covered by our privacy notice and that can be found on the website bonnet.gov.uk. Now for each application the planning officer will first present the applications, then each speaker will have three minutes to address the committee and the governance officer will inform you when there is one minute left. After that the members of the committee will have the opportunity to ask questions of the speakers and then of the officers and we will then discuss and the committee will determine the application and I will announce the committee's decision after that. So when you come to the table we'll ask you to turn your microphone on which will help you with if you can't see the button to turn it on with and we can only have one microphone on at a time to ensure no feedback. So going on to the agenda now. The minutes of the last meeting and members read that, approve that, five minutes. Absence of members, I think all members of the committee are here this evening. Do any members have any interests to declare? No that's right, dispensations granted by the monitor officer, there are none. An addendum has been published and sent out to all members, I hope you've all seen that and officers will refer to what's in the addendum when they present each item. So we're going to move on to the first proper item on the agenda which is the Thomas Watson Cottage Homes in Leecroft Road in Barnet. I'm going to ask the officers to present that. Good evening councillors, the application for you tonight has come before committee because there's implications on the decision on the public purse. The application is to fell four London plane trees and to reduce two oak trees by around six and five metres. This is the site plan and the protected trees here. This is the protected oak tree one and the protected oak tree is this one here and the protected London plane trees are located within this group here and this group there. This is the aerial view of the site, there's the oak tree. The implicated houses are just these two here, the 11 and 12 Leecroft Road and the London plane trees are located here. This is the applicant site plan which shows the location of the damages on the properties which are all located towards the London plane trees which are six and seven there and ten and eleven here, sorry eleven and twelve which are those two there and the affected properties is that one there. T13 is the other oak tree here and that's T1 the oak tree. This is the site photographs, this is T1 which is a large mature and established oak tree. These are T7 and 8 which are the oak trees here, sorry London plane trees, these two here and these are 11 and 12 which is these two trees here and this is T13 the oak tree there. The damage occurring in the property can be seen quite readily with cracks down the walls around the windows and there by the windows there which is typical for general subsidence cases and it's also visible outside the property just here by the windows and then just around the base of the bay window. There's no relevant history for the trees and these properties in the past although there was movement that was being repaired in 2013 and 14. Our engineers have looked at the application and have concluded that the London plane trees are directly implicated in the movement. He also asked for DNA samples but London plane trees are clones so they're genetically similar so a DNA sample wouldn't be beneficial so it's likely that of those four plane trees one or all of them are affecting the properties. They also agreed a possibility of root barrier would be a feasible mitigation for the movement and the key considerations that the evidence provided is that the London tree roots have been identified underneath both properties in causing the damage. There was no oak trees found oak tree roots found underneath the properties but the applicants have decided to take precautionary measures to provide to reduce the trees and then the cost if the application is concluded that the evidence isn't sufficient there's maybe an excess of £105,000 compensation costs may be liable to the council. So the recommendation is based on the evidence provided to whether the remedy of subsidence on the basis of the information provided. Thank you. Thank you. We have no speakers on this item and I don't think the applicant is speaking either. So do members have any questions? Councillor O'Connor. Thank you. In your opinion would a root barrier be as effective as removing the trees? They can be yes. So the root barriers effectively are three to four meter deep trench dug around the affected properties and then they insert a copper barrier that seals completely separates the trees from the properties. But from from the evidence that you've described would sound to me like there's no evidence that the oak trees are causing problems so my inclination would be to leave them alone. Would it be a possibility to reduce the crown of the the plane trees? Would that that's not what the application I know that's not what yeah would that be another alternative? I know that's not what the application is. The problem with doing that is the insurance companies and the thing is it has to be done on a repeated basis so and then to make a meaningful difference to have to reduce 50 to 60 percent of the whole crown of the tree which should then render the tree with virtually no visual amenity and so it's perhaps if you're going to do that it's perhaps better to remove the trees in totality and plant more appropriate species. Okay thank you. Mr Roberts? No thank you chair. That site has a substantial number I don't know how many I've never counted but substantial number of mature trees there and particularly remove those four plane trees would would very much alter the perspective of that estate is that not the case? It would have an impact on the visual character of the estate but they were planted as part of they appear to be planted as part of the landscaping and and they don't predate the development itself so they're sort of part of the landscaping of it. Those London plane trees have a capability to grow to 25 30 meters tall so eventually and they're growing quite close together so at some point they'll need some intervention anyway for our bicultural reasons. Bearing in mind the trees came off to the building and the buildings are quite old would you consider the foundations of the building to be adequate? The the buildings were built in 1905 somewhere around then so the issues around subsidence and clay soils wasn't considered so the buildings were built to stand of a traditional standard at the time they were built. Thank you there's no more questions or comments we'll go to a vote now we're asked to either approve this application or refuse the application as you can see on there so all those in favor of approval three and refusal three so that's that's three for refusal three for approval so the chair has a casting vote and I vote to refuse this application so this application has been refused and we now move on to the next item which is East Barnet school all right okay so this application relates to the installation of flood lighting to the existing sports pitch to the south side of East Barnet school the pitch sits atop a plateau surrounded by an embankment and enclosed by semi transparent fencing predominantly three meters in height rising to five meters along the ends with additional ball netting behind the goals at around eight meters or so as a result of the embankment the surrounding adjoining properties sit at a lower level however the scheme has been amended to cite the single flood lights along the sides and increase the number of lights on the end columns to two so it was previously reversed containing the light more effectively and reducing the amount of light spill behind the goals the scheme has also been upgraded to incorporate maximum cutoff louvers and maximum nine degree tilt which will also mitigate the impact with deliberate reference to the level change to the surrounding properties the proposal would support the operation of the school and the associated community use including the corollary health benefits in accordance with the ambitions of the core strategy and the ecology officer has sustained no objection as such the proposal is recommended for approval thank you we have two speakers Costas Nicola and Emma Godley so I think I've got Costas Nicola speaking in objection if you'd like to knit so Nicola Costas is it Costas Nicola or Nicola Costas I'm not sure Costas Mr Nicola hello I believe you're objecting so if you take a seat okay thank you and then if you can turn the microphone on there's a face picture at the bottom do you see that the face speaking face there can you press that press it yet I just pressed the face the picture of the face below you might need to come and show you something that's difficult to see it no that's it that's it that's on and then you'll have three minutes if you introduce yourself you have three minutes to speak and we'll let you know when you've got a minute left okay hello I'm here to represent the views of the majority of local residents who are strongly opposed to this proposal initially I should stress that we residents we are tolerant reasonable citizens and local neighbors of the school but we have genuine concerns and we hope that these questions and concerns are going to be as follows which I'm going to read to you firstly we have the big concern about noise pollution residents are very worried about the anti-social noise that will come from this proposal which would disturb our bright to peaceful enjoyment in our homes we already experience excessive noise daily during every school day during the evenings and at weekends when this pitch is in use and this proposal would dramatically increase that secondly a lack of data there is uncertainty about future noise and light pollution levels how have current noise levels been evaluated for this application and what measures will be taken to monitor the noise levels to ensure compliance with legal standards next illumination times residents oppose the proposed illumination times if the proposal was to go forward reducing operating times for the lights would be essential and we would request clear documentation on those changes the school starts generating intrusive noise from 8 30 on weekdays and 9 a.m at weekends your this proposal would mean that residents have to tolerate noise up to 12 and a half hours a day during the week and seven hours a day at weekends there is no volume control or switch off button when there is noise on the pitch and 22 people are running around the only way to control that would be to reduce the hours the lights would be on next light pollution flood lights will be intrusive to our property and our way of life with light spillage in our back lanes gardens and homes the lighting is shown to some extent to mitigate light pollution but as we know there will be still still be light spillage bright light and intrusive green glow from the pitch generating pollution given post proximity of our homes how can this be acceptable lastly community engagement many residents feel sidelined by the school what measures will the school take to include resident views if the proposal moves forward such as joint review groups or site visits we understand that both the school and the sports club would be operating on this site this is a community school in the residential area and dual use of the site in this way would cause excessive disturbance in conclusion the majority of residents firmly oppose the proposed flood lights due to significant concerns about noise pollution insufficient data current future impacts and intrusive light spillage we urge the committee and the school to address these concerns thoughtfully before any decisions are made residents deserve to have their voices heard and considered in this important matter in our daily lives thank you thank you uh first of all listen the glove could you say exactly where you live i live in richway avenue sorry one of the houses at one of the end of the pitches on the left or the pitch can we point out is that your unit probably close to the the end of the penalty area on the goal mouth on the left just about there okay and you're talking very much about noise which we we do appreciate but how much noise are you hearing at the moment up until four o'clock every day from the pitch and well from the pitch on school grounds we obviously hear um when the kids are out on morning breaks when they're out at lunch break um they're out playing running around so we put up with that because we live near a school and we appreciate that is that is that on the pitch or is that just general that's on the pitch and in the grounds when the kids come out of breaks and then after school we can hear kids running around doing things and then i think up to three days during the week the pitch is in use in the evenings during the summer and sometimes that is quite excessive but the worst of it is at the weekends on a saturday and sunday morning in in summer literally we're not able to open our windows are going to the garden because there is screaming and shouting and quite a foul language sometimes which we've complained for school and schools plus about several times right yeah i mean i hope that school might have might discuss that with you i mean clearly that is a nuisance but of course that will continue whether or not there are floodlights there well yes the only time we get the really uh a graceful of peace from that is during winter when it's pitch black and it's peace and quiet and we can sit back and enjoy it if these lights come in we'll literally have this going up to every single day of the year okay thank you any other questions yes council conway sorry do you know what the distance is from the end of your house until the beginning from the end of our garden to the actual pitch of the fencing is probably i would say roughly about 20 to 25 meters thank you no oh Councillor Roberts um just funny are you aware the school it is is or has planted trees kind of first small kind of trees at the top end certainly the top end i didn't see further down at the top end where it's next to the school premises i think which when those trees grow up they will provide shelter from noise and light coming from those pitches well i don't i don't really think that would excessively or reduce any noise or whatever because it's an open area it's a it's the size of a full football pitch and it's open all the way around i don't think that would reduce noise much in my opinion but the trees are on their fence line so as they as they grow up they will provide a barrier i don't think they'll provide a barrier with 22 grown men or teenagers running around playing a football match we're literally in our house we can stand in the bedroom and even with windows closed sometimes the noise is excessive and unbearable even with windows closed at the weekend okay thank you the picture we've been shown of what the site will look like with lights shows the light is only on the football pitch it's based on your speech and the paper here you disagree with that yes what that's based on well because obviously you will get a green glow from the lights going onto the pitch you'll get a green glow flowing in the atmosphere in the in the area thank you i think that's all the questions thank you very much and now we've got emma godley speaking in support of the application thank you thanks for having me thank you and again your microphone is on already you'll have if you introduce yourself then you have three minutes to speak and you'll be given a warning when's one minute left thank you thanks for having me today um unlike most the majority of those who have objected to this application i live on day land and i back on directly to the asbro pitch i moved to that location with an 11 month old baby and an eight-year-old child was i concerned about the noise and the profanity coming from the school yes of course absolutely i was however other redeeming factors outweighed that and i chose to move to my home behind the school despite those concerns nine years later and now with the nine nine and 17 year old having been through the toddler young and now older child and teenage stages we are a family who spends a lot of time outside and in our garden have my worries been justified no absolutely not yes there is occasional profanity however i emphasize the word occasional you do expect that with humans they swear sometimes the sounds of children playing or should i say teenagers playing of kids football clubs at the weekend of the occasional adults who already use the astro weeknights sometimes in the dark are joyous happy and enthusiastic sounds it sounds of adults teenagers and children who are passionate about kicking a ball around and burning off some energy while keeping both physical and mental health engaged these sounds are delightful they're not overly loud just a happy healthy healthy cheerful hum with regards to potential overspill light i don't believe that i it will have negative impact on my own home or garden nor that of my behind the astro neighbors many of whom are also supportive of this application however have not necessarily made a supportive notion on their application i welcome increased use of the facilities into the evening hours and strongly believe that amateur and social athletes will only add as a security deterrent helping to keep our home safe to be completely transparent as well as being a direct neighbor to the astro i also work at the school and i'm a parent of a year 13 student at east barnet and a year five pupil who probably will choose east barnet as his secondary choice east barnet school has a fantastic p.e department who are passionate about engaging our children in sport and activity i for sure fully support that drive and i trust that the committee today will see that the benefits to our community far outweigh the worries that some people may have worries much like my own nine years ago when i moved to my home on dane land that will prove to be unjust thanks for listening to me thank you i mean could you as well point out exactly where you live on the plan yeah so i'm i'm 80 day land if you see the astro on the right hand side i am the building that runs directly parallel to the top to the north side of the astro yeah pretty much in that circle at the bottom of your circle that you're making that's it that's me and my back fence is about four to five meters from the astro fence so your yes your house and your gardens are quite close to it very close yeah okay thank you any other questions counselor roberts just want to establish from what you said you don't find it disruptive at the present time not at all i think it's a lovely sound kids playing and adults went the pitch sometimes in the evenings it even that it's a lovely sound just men women kids having fun running around they're they're playing sport they're not they're trying to vandalize anything or they're not taking drugs or drinking i personally don't think so i've had a good look at the plans and the lights i'm familiar with football pitches i go to a few of them myself with my nine-year-old boy the lights are very focused there's barnet gate barnet gate astro 4g pitch on barnet gate lane and those floodlights are very focused there's no overspill onto the surrounding area i don't you know i will see the lights from my house but i don't believe that they're going to be coming into my territory in any in any sense of that do you any other no i mean i uh yeah scout's mechanic sorry um due to the nature of of the incline so um the incline is from the school falling away to the pitches yeah so there's a difference in height level yeah how do you think the the lights will affect your property because you're at the you're at the lowest end yeah well i guess that puts them more in my highline than people who are at a higher end but i don't think that it's going to affect my mental health or anyone in my household or in my neighboring houses i think we'll see them just like we can see excuse me just like we can see the the domestic lights on the other side of the astro now of people who live on ridgeway we can see their lights i'll be able to see these lights they'll just be a little bit closer and maybe taller but i don't feel like that should override the opportunity for more people in the community to look after themselves thank you any other questions the speaker no thank you very much thank you and then we have claire blondon who's down here is the agent yes is there a representative from the school yeah we've got claire blondon's name down here but if you can introduce yourself and then again you're 15 minutes sorry five minutes three minutes to speak hello i'm helen chamberlain i'm the school business leader at the school the school wish to request planning permission for the installation of floodlights to enhance the use of our facilities for both our students and the wider community the main driver is that they will enable an extended enrichment offer for students throughout the year increasing their physical and mental well-being students well-being is one of our top priorities and unfortunately many of our sports clubs have to be curtailed in the winter months because of the poor light limiting the free local and vital student enrichment activities that are accessible to all in 2020 the government invested in a national drive to encourage schools to open up their facilities for the benefits of communities and to enable schools to extend their facilities to sports and activity clubs also a condition of the redevelopment of this site in 2010 from sport england was that the school commit to making our facilities available to our local community we are a community school at all the outdoor clubs we currently let our facilities to our community groups offering sports activities to young people and adults the installation of floodlights would also enable the school to generate much further much needed funding to help with the upkeep and investment for the replacement of the astroturf which will in turn enhance the education and facilities available to our students the school building is now over 10 years old and we find that we need to update many of the facilities a priority being the astroturf prior to the application for floodlights the school is proud to say that it is not aware of receiving any complaints in respect of lettings related noise or other nuisance any complaints that we've received since the floodlight consultation have been investigated fully the school however acknowledges the issues raised by the local residents since we proposed this initiative an ecological survey has been carried out and as stated in the committee report any issues no the spill of light are mitigated through measures referenced in the lighting detail with regard to noise since opening the site in 2010 the school has had lettings averaging three nights a week during the summer months and during the day at weekends as per the application the school intends the use of floodlights for lettings for no more than three evenings a week no later than 9 p.m the school feel that measures taken together with restrictions on the timing of lettings are overall effective in ensuring that noise noise is not excessive we have a large car park which is available for use by lettings avoiding congestion and minimizing associated traffic noise the mitigation method measures as well as restrictive hours of use are considered to have an acceptable impact regarding lighting and ecology as confirmed by lighting and ecology officers noise impacts are considered to be adequately mitigated by the restrictive opening hours and would not lead to subsequent infrastructure impacts such as traffic and parking stress and would enable the use of the pitch in the winter months in line with existing youth youth the benefits to the school would be enormous thank you thank you um can i just confirm that the times of this we've got here that the flag lights will not be certainly lit after 9 p.m on weekdays and 4 p.m on weekends that's correct so i mean currently you know we're just past the mid-summer and evenings are starting to get but but currently how much are they used during those times during the times that would be affected by floodlights so at the moment we have lettings during the summer up to around three evenings a week a couple of them are no later than eight o'clock and then we do have football letting on a saturday morning into the afternoon so this might extend it to winter months but overall the impact you fear is that it's not going to be any greater than it is now no it will just get extended into the winter months so we're not we're not intending to extend the number of lettings that we currently have in the summer into the winter because we we want to ensure that we're supportive of residents and want to ensure that we're minimizing the impact as far as possible yeah i mean i asked this because clearly clearly we can't do anything particularly about the noise no that's not under planning but it's whether the installation of these floodlights will it will increase that nuisance um with regard to the nuisance that we've heard from from the ejector and there there are 45 ejectors i think saying the same kind of thing what kind of relationship do you have with local people they can come and complain and you'll take their concerns address concerns yes i mean as i've said in my um speech any um complaint that we've had has been fully investigated so there was a particular resident who was concerned and we've had a number of meetings with her the lettings company that we employ to kind of look after our lettings went around there on a saturday morning to kind of measure the noise the deputy head teacher who's been on site when there's been complaints has been down and we haven't found it to be excessive but obviously she's concerned and we've done as much as we can to kind of support that but as i said that that that those complaints came after we put our application in for the floodlights we hadn't received those complaints prior to that and we haven't had any change since really we opened in 2010 in terms of the number of lettings that we have during the summer and clearly we have a number of people in support as well as we've heard so yep thank you very much other questions counselor calick thank you um when we visited the school to to to see the site and to see the effect you would have on the neighborhood you and you erected large netting at both ends to stop walls going into people's gardens to alleviate their concerns should in the future there be major concerns of like could you put blackout screens on the other sides of the curtain but potentially if there are concerns and it's something that we can look at i mean as i as i explained when when you came this morning we are concerned about the neighbors we had an issue where the balls and it wasn't through lettings it was the student as they were playing football were going into one of the neighbors um gardens and was causing her distress so at our expense we arranged to have that netting put up so we're very responsive we want to do as much as we can but at the same time we want to ensure that our students are getting the best um offer that we can we can give them questions counselor roberts again on on the site visit just confirming there were some quite substantial tree plantations there which in in the fullness of time not not next year but but moving forward will provide protection from the light falling on the rear gardens yes absolutely yes and they were there planted for that purpose by the school yes all right thank you okay if there's no further questions thank you very much thank you any questions to the officers no otherwise we'll go straight to the vote then um the officers are recommending approval of this item almost in favor of approval that's all so this item has been approved and we move on now to the next item which is 21 Hampstead gardens thank you chair this application relates to 21 Hampstead gardens the conversion of an existing dwelling into three flats including part single part two-story extensions roof extension and other alterations to the roof and roof lights and associated amenity space refuse and cycle storage the extensions themselves have the benefit of a separate permission and as we saw on site this morning are currently being built on site that's the location plan the property is at the end of a cul-de-sac backing um onto hoop lane cemetery to the east so this is the that's the end property here this is the cemetery some site photographs um so that's the existing side access way to the onto the next the cemetery the front elevation this is the rear elevation so this is the boundary line here so this is a small extension at the neighboring property at ground floor level and this current existing two-story outrigger the existing elevations this is sorry this is the property here so that's existing and these are the existing side elevation the existing floor plans ground floor plan and the existing garden first floor plan and the roof sections these are the approved elevations for the extensions that are currently being built so this is the property here so this is the rear the that existing outrigger has been extended sideways coming no further rearward but to the side so main extension here two-story small dormer in the roof that's the approved roof plan so the proposed elevations are essentially the same at the rear and this is the front this is the extension here so the first floor is extended partly over the ground floor but retaining this passageway for access to the rear the proposed side elevation the dormer window which would overlook the cemetery the floor plans showing a family-sized five three-bed five-person unit at ground floor they'd have their own private garden here and the remaining garden is for allocated for the other two flats access down this side passageway there's no car parking existing or proposed on the front here and that would be the remain these are the bike stores and refuse areas which could be positioned on this part of the site you'll see in the recommendation that there is a proposal to have a legal agreement to restrict future occupiers from having car parking residents car parking permits within the cpz these are the proposed upper floor plans so there's a two-bed unit on the first floor and then a split level one-bed unit over this part of the first floor and within the loft the proposed roof plan and sections which show adequate head heights for all floors to provide decent amenity for the future occupiers so the main considerations are that the works with the exception of roof lights and the subdivision of the garden all have planning permission by virtue of a house extension application the application is compliant with the council's emerging and adopted policies in relation to flat conversions and officers consider it's acceptable in terms of the impact on the character of the property has set out in the report highways raised no objections subject to these 106 agreements restrict parking permits and approval is recommended thank you thank you we have two speakers on this item karin yet brand and atul monger either both of you there doesn't matter which order which one you wish to speak in can i is that my case uh yes you're mr monger yes thank you please do if you can take a seat um if you can introduce yourself and then you'll have three minutes to speak you'll be given a warning when you have one minute left sure thank you okay um i speak here on behalf of all the residents of the cul-de-sac i own number 17 which is part of the mid-terrace that's been impacted by this you will note that 18 of us had objected to this initially when the first allocation came up and when the delegated report of 14 january or 14 june was put up it simply referenced a part single part two story and all the references to three apartment blocks was taken away which appears to have been misleading at best and seems to have led people to believe that it is now just two apartments rather than three which is highly objectionable i think more importantly the proposal for conversion into family dwellings but in the absence of adequate parking very clearly does not encourage families to either own or rent such apartments and as we've seen in the houses that have been converted it clearly thanks to the in the creation of multiple kitchens and multiple bathrooms results in single occupants per whom becoming the predominant dwellers of of such conversions and it's fair to say that 1069 finchley road which has converted into apartment blocks this is the former police station which was converted and has no parking permission has had a lot of problem actually selling those apartments moving on based on the usage of the space between the cemetery wall and the current wall of the house of the terrace there is clearly if car parking is permitted there is clearly no possibility of a one meter space for people to pass through in case of an emergency leave aside even under normal circumstances to me and to the rest of us deciding on that road the reference to putting any kind of cycle parking is beyond bemusing because no no no house on the road that really has any cycle parking so it is really clearly likely to be misleading the conversion of other houses on the road should not be seen as a precedence because like i said it's used for purposes other than actually families being there and like i said the key thing for us is that the turning on that road the radius on the road for turning absolutely does not permit any extension on the side because it will only come at the expense of the current parking areas parking based on the road which defeats the entire purpose of actually not allowing additional parking for this house so i just struggle to understand how this complies with the standards okay thank you i mean with regards to parking there is a condition that occupiers of these flats would not be able to obtain a parking permit so that addresses the parking i would just like to clarify that the parking on that road is not restricted for all the 24 hours which means that after 6 30 p.m in the evening and before 9 30 in the morning there is no stoppage on anyone parking on that road this is very likely to encourage people to park on the road at the expense of existing residents and those that have cars on that road um yes i mean that this is aims that they're unlikely to be able to afford to to buy a car because they'll just park it during the day but that that is there that ameliorates that somewhat any other questions no we have no other questions for you thank you very much thank you and then we have the culling diasporan thank you and and again if you can introduce yourself then you have three minutes to speak yeah i'll try to be quick i wrote few words just to thank you not forget so i'm a house owner from the from dingwell gardens the parallel street and i've been living there for 18 years in the last few years we've been experiencing serious parking issues since the conversion of several houses on our street into two or three flats and hamster gardens became the only place for us to park our one car on most days also residents from neighboring streets are coming to park on our street as they have parking problems this is a consistent problem throughout the day and not only at night when the restrictions are not there so because we it's parking permits only until six six o'clock and then afterwards like the gentleman said anyone can park there on top of that bonnet council decided without consulting the resident to allocate two parking spaces for electric cars on all our small streets these are very small streets around us which means again less parking spaces for residents these are all small streets and the parking is very limited as it is increasing the numbers of homes will make it even harder for all of us and bear in mind that every household each household is allowed to have two parking permit permits and converting houses into flats in these small streets just means less car less parking and more stress for us we had few issues with neighbors over parking because they have three cars in one flat we have one car in a house and we own a house and we can't park our one house because they have three cars it's just it makes it very hard for all of us these are very very small streets and it's just making it very hard for all of us thank you okay thank you as i as i said to mr monger there is a condition that people who occupy these flats will not be able to have parking permits so if it's a single family house at the moment they can have two permits they won't be they won't be able to have any so there won't be four more permits will be generally i think converting flats into houses into flats on these small streets it's it's a problem yes no except that that is everywhere parking is problem everywhere so any other questions thank you thank you very much now we have the is the agent here i have your name is danielle sentier that's correct thank you chair thank you again if you can choose yourself you have three minutes to speak and give you an order when you have one minute left perfect thank you very much um good evening everyone and thank you for the opportunity to speak my name is danielle sentier um i'm a chartered member of the rtpi and the agent for the planning application um as you will have seen when you went out on site today um there are a number of householder extensions that have been recently consented and have been constructed or in the process of being constructed at the property um one of these is the the two story side extension which already looks to change the relationship between the property and the boundary particularly overlooking the um the cemetery the point about the turning circle is an interesting one because actually there is no sort of legal right over that land to be able to use it as a turning circle and the proposed two-story extension which is under construction at the moment is already going to change that ability to be able to use it for that purpose but what we spoke about earlier is in relation to the bin and bike stores if there's concerns around the location specifically of that there's a planning condition as well that if there's a condition that would allow us to move that or relocate that subject to planning conditions which could be assessed by officers at a later stage if there was a concern in relation to that with regards to turning of vehicles at the end of the road um i appreciate the concerns that have been raised by um by the objectors and the people that live on the road as been quite rightly pointed out by the chair the situation with the house as existing is it's entitled to two parking permits on the road the three flats as proposed would be entitled to no parking permits on the road at all so it would actually remove two of the permit holders from the road by way of this proposal if this were to be approved this evening so we hope that that would make the parking situation significantly better in relation to the policy position for this application your new policy ho u3 it specifically states that the council will optimize the potential for housing delivery through residential conversion and redevelopment of larger family homes if you go into that policy this thank you this site meets all of those criteria in terms of its location is its public accessibility transport rating as well so i find it hard to see that your council couldn't provide any more support for this type of subdivision of properties as it meets all of those identified criteria we're also looking to re-provide a three-bedroom property on the ground floor with a two-bedroom on the first floor and then a one-bedroom duplex in the loft so a real good mix of accommodation in this location which is also something that your local plan is seeking to provide the housing is sustainably located and will make optimum use of the site which was vacant for 10 years before it was purchased by my client so we don't want to end up in that situation for much longer the public right of access as well has been maintained so that we can we can ensure that that will continue to benefit the local residents you can see that that's been done through the inclusion of the archway which has already been built on site so i hope that that clarifies all of the points that have been raised but please let me know if you've got any other queries thank you thank you could i just ask do you know um how many other houses in that street are converted to flats to the best of my knowledge there are none that have been given planning permission explicitly however i'm aware that numbers five one five six and seven appear to have council tax records as though they have been perhaps converted earlier you know in the past so those properties appear to have been converted although albeit there was no planning permission explicitly for that purpose those are converted into two flats this is three i believe so i believe they're converted into two flats so three flats is rather larger than any others for that for that quite i mean the properties are all quite different along this road as well in terms of the size that's available to them um so there is enough you know there's more than enough space to be able to get a three bed a two bed and a one bed and all of them are all of them are exceeding the national space standards as well we've not made these small flats they are they're generously sized flats in accordance with the new london plan best practice guidance so we've made sure that they're suitable size so there is enough size there is enough square footage in this property to accommodate the the three flats that are proposed okay any other questions council roberts i just wanted to clarify it will be made clear to the occupants as when they're moving they have no parking rights there absolutely it would need to be so for anyone that was renting or purchasing these properties it would be marketed as such that there were no there was no ability to be able to gain a parking permit as part of their as part of their purchase or their rental so the previous speaker the objectors who very largely spoken about parking has been their concerns yeah of course as far as you're concerned that will not arise because there will be no parking spacing allocated with those properties there's no parking there's no permits allocated to those properties i'm aware of what what the uh objectors have mentioned in terms of the timings of the permits but they're even permitted at the weekend so how feasible is it that you're going to keep getting up and moving your car every time there's a restrict and where are you going to put it so i just i think if you are reliant on a car and you know that you can't get a permit in this location this probably isn't the location for you to be honest but there's plenty of people that are going to make use of the station the cycle parking that's available you know we're trying to shift towards more sustainable methods of transport i think there's plenty of people that would love to live in a location like this but that don't necessarily need to rely on a private car there's also a number of car club bays located nearby as well which people can rely on the other questions no thank you very much thank you shall i turn this off thank you any comments or questions for the officers yes can i just um ask about the amenity space um and uh how much space there is if if there are three flats on that side so the ground floor flat has this area here which i cannot read basically the the whole garden at the moment is about it's about eight by eight so 64 square meters um so i think the the ground floor probably has slightly under 30 square meters and the upper two floors flats have this area at the back here um which obviously is going to be well another third again over the size of the ground floor flat so it more than meets the standard for flats uh thank you and also that that diagram seems to suggest that the pavement is going to change which i assume it probably won't be because um at the moment as they were saying yes so this is the um that's the front the front wall of the properties this is the pavement if i just go back to the photograph the people have mentioned the turning circle um so as we saw on site this is the road and then it's a very small turning circle there's one on this side here and then you can see the double yellow line here that will stay the same so that won't change no so they can't do any develop over that part so the development has to take place back within the curtilage of the property um and then there was an equivalent double yellow line on the other opposite side on the other end property so it is a small turning circle but there is a slight area there that people can use to turn around okay thank you yeah i'd like to ask can you can you just clarify our policy for maintaining single family occupancy of houses and if if they are converted into flats um the the number of flats that each property should have so wonder you know two flats may be sufficient three flats may be too much in this property the emerging policy which is the one we need to go on really given it's kind of in a very quite advanced stage now is set out in the report to try and secure family housing and protect family housing there's a minimum size for a house that's to be converted so if it's less than 135 square meters we won't grant planning commission for flat conversion that's not the case in this with this one has to be within a p-tail of three or more which this one is or it has to be close to a town center but this is in a p-tail three area so that complies with the policy um all conversion applications have to provide a three-bed five person unit which this one does on the ground floor and then all other units should be 61 square meters and in this case they both are 61 or more square meters so they do meet the floor size criteria for the new policy the three flats here comply with our it complies with the new policy yes thank you any other questions comments and we'll go to the vote the offices are recommending approval all those in favor and against one not voting you're not one not voting so that application is approved and we move on to the next item which is Marwood court and Gradyton road this is an outline application to construct a third floor level to provide two one-bed flats on the top of an existing flat roof block also provision of off-street parking refuse recycling cycle storage for the whole block and new front access gates all items are to be considered as part of the outline except for landscaping which is the reserved matter so this is the site here at the end of Gradyton road off Ballard's lane opposite Victoria Park in Finchley central this is the block here as you saw on site the other side of the road is all housing terraced housing but this side of the road originally was all workshops and factories although there has been some residential development over more recent years this is the aerial photograph so that's the block here excuse me showing the relationship with the houses opposite the adjoining commercial buildings and the relationship with the properties here in Wentworth avenue and these properties down here are Wentworth park and that's the view from the other side photograph looking down Gunnison avenue so the site is on the left at the bottom down here that's the front elevation showing the existing commercial use next door so that's the building three floors with a flat roof and this shows the boundary with the rear of the gardens in Wentworth avenue and that's the view the other side so these are the existing floor plans the same on each floor and that's the existing elevations the existing proposed site plan so currently there's no bin store the bins were just left in sort this front area there is parking area at the back which but there's no formal layout for the car parking and this is a communal garden area which serves all the flats the proposal is to provide a gate here access into the sites to formalize the car parking sorry the cycle parking and the refuse storage within the front garden for all the flats and then to formalize car parking at the back here so the communal space here will be largely unchanged in terms of the garden area for the residents so that's the proposed rear and side so essentially a new crown roof is going to be formed on the top this is the side elevation and the rear elevation dormer windows in all the elevations here front and that's the front and side elevation so this is the one that you would see from the street the windows on this side here which will be the ones facing Wentworth avenue gardens are small kitchen windows and will be obscure glazed to prevent overlooking this is the proposed third floor showing two one-bed flats layout and the long section here so this is the the proposed so that's obviously the approximately existing height this is the new height it's only one and a half meters higher to the ridge than the existing and that's the Wentworth house so there it is slightly lower level here but this shows the distance of 30 meters 30 meter deep gardens to the properties in Wentworth and as i said the windows the dorm windows on this side here are obscure glazed to avoid overlooking nothing further to add thank you thank you we have one object mr k thank you mr k i'd like to confirm we have received your emails as well with your concerns and we have had a look at those uh again if you can put you put put the microphone on there's a button with the face on it you can see that um it's got a face on it near the bottom that's picture with the face okay three minutes to speak and you'll be given a warning when you have one minute left thank you very much indeed and good evening members um i'm actually here representing uh the neighbors so this my role is as an advocate on behalf of mr lester and the other neighbors who are here this evening um my name is danny k i'm a child surveyor and a member of the town and country planning association amongst other things i was born in barnet i've lived in barnet i've worked in barnet and i care about barnet i've been working in housing developments and urban regeneration for over 25 years i've worked on over 500 development regeneration projects including for seven years as the development director for a leading london housing association i now run a consultancy business aimed at promoting and delivering sustainable housing development as such i normally find myself advocating for new homes however this is a very this is a very rare example of the of the reverse i've been fully briefed by mr lester mr lester and neighbors and indeed have supported mark and others in in their objections barnet rightfully has an excellent track record of delivering high quality housing and indeed strong plans for significant new supply thousands of homes in key areas in other areas in barnet it is in this overall context that i believe this specific proposal is unnecessary inappropriate and is a rare example of a mistaken in my opinion application interpretation of barnet's own housing design and planning policies in particular i should draw your attention to the specific explicit wording contained in your 2016 supplementary planning document which is called the residential design guide proposals for new quotes proposals for new residential development should respond to the distinctive local building forms and patterns of development and respect scale mass and heights of the surrounding physical context i i don't believe this is the case the pre-existing building which no one can do anything about is an aberration predated the spd an extra story would definitely be out of keeping even if partly pitched in terms of scale and typology moreover the policy wording was designed to arrest further inappropriate additions of this data and i represent it do not demur from the housing needs yet in terms of the balance of harm the impact on all the neighbors of this additional story is out of keeping and uh how long do i have okay if i may i'd like to pass around this uh this photograph and just take issue with one of the slides that was up we're showing a tree um masking the uh the new build in fact this the reality of the situation is as you can see here effectively this area will be uh which is developed and will have a significant impact on the local character and suburban nature as defined in your own policies thank you thank you thank you questions um what i'd like to ask with with regard to that picture you showed from a garden so the current top floor is already overlooking the garden so yes this is the existing so other concerns is it's going to make it worse or it's going to make it worse significantly in what way if the garden so in terms of the overbearing and the over and the sense of being overlooked in the overbearing nature the impact on the gardens in in the area so if this is the distance the distance both between the building and the boundary and the building in the house i pick a pardon the distance between the building and the edge of the garden and the building of the house yes far exceed um the the minimum that should be i'm sorry i don't understand your point um the distance between between this building and the and the boundary of the garden and the garden yeah and more distance between that and the house yeah i understand and the breath of the committee report does make reference to distance but that is only one element there are a number of other policy references in your local plan in your emergent local plan in the sbt which actually counter that just a distance argument and i could quote from your own policies and i would i'm raising this because i do genuinely believe that this is inappropriate and will have an impact on the neighbors okay so but really the concern is just overlooking of garden the concern is overlooking the overbearing nature of the scheme the impact on the privacy or the sense of privacy and how that will affect the enjoyment of the gardens and the spaces uh that the neighbors currently enjoy the the pre-existing situation is not great but it is what it is you can't change that an additional story will have a material impact in terms of the sense of enjoyment and overlooking thank you uh castle barnes so and so if you get are you just representing people from wentworth avenue correct okay all right okay thank you okay thank you very much thank you uh and then we have the agent to henry i believe again you know you know how this works by now if you can introduce yourself to us then you have three minutes thank you chair and members um my name is joe henry and i'm the agent acting for the application like the speaking object i was born in barnet work in barnet live in barnet and care about barnet the application has been referred to this committee by council rich because he was concerned about a possible overlooking of gardens in wentworth avenue i did email council rich and he explained the windows facing the rear gardens of the properties in wentworth avenue are proposed to be obscure glazed to ensure no overlooking he kindly responded and said he did discuss the matter of local residents but the remain of the view that an extra floor impinges on their gardens as stated in your office report the proposed two proposed windows facing the rear gardens at wentworth avenue will be obscure glazed meaning there will be no overlooking i would also draw your attention to suggested planning condition number 10 which requires these windows to be obscure glass only and shall be permanently retained as such thereafter in respect of the impact the proposal has on the character and appearance of the area and the building itself i would comment as follows the application site forms part of a street which has a very mixed character of residential and commercial properties with varying designs massing and heights the proposal provides a crown roof extension on existing flat roof the existing flat roof block style building has limited architectural merit almost every other building within the road and indeed beyond in in wentworth avenue has a pitch roof the introduction of a pitch roof would significantly improve the design form of the existing building overall contributing positively to the character and appearance of the building and the locality it's also important to note the proposal seeks to provide two additional dwellings which will contribute to addressing the housing crisis something on which the new government has prioritized as their top priority thank you for listening i'll be happy to answer any questions you may have thank you any questions no it looks like you explained your style quite well thank you very much any comments or questions the officers Councillor Callick the existing height of the building includes a balustrade how much will the additional height how much additional height will be added by adding the pictures yeah this element here um is kind of a parapet around the existing flat roof so the additional height is about one and a half meters because part of that will be taken away to provide the the pitch so the oval ridge is not a full three meter high new additional floor it's um about one and a half meters higher to the top of the ridge thank you any further questions no then we should go to the vote the officers are recommending this for approval all those in favor of approval that's all so this application is approved thank you and we move on to the next one now which is forward side avenue good evening councillors this next application is forward side avenue concerning the demolition of the existing dwelling on site and the erection of a new building with the basement level to create six new self-contained flats this is the location plan of the site um you can see all right here's an aerial view um to the left there's a yellow star indicating the site and just to give you the context of the scheme the far right of the image is the finchley high road which is in the north eventually town center this is some photos aerial views you can see the opposite side of the applicant site has a variety of different buildings and building forms of flat roofs whereas the side that the applicant site is on is a more traditional um house form these are the existing elevations and the existing floor plans the proposed front and rear elevations so it's a two-story building with a crown roof form and at the bottom is a street scene image of how the building will appear amongst the neighbors side elevation the south side elevation facing the properties on woodside park road and the north side elevation facing number six woodside avenue section drawing there just illustrates the basement level and the light wells that are proposed there'll be a lower ground floor across lower ground and ground there'll be three duplex units so these are the ground floor units each of these units benefit from either a light well or a private rear garden amenity space two units at the first floor and one unit within the roof level here's the proposed site layout plan showing five parking spaces within the driveway at the front and a large communal garden at the rear so in summary officers have assessed that the principle of the conversion of the existing house and its redevelopment to be compliant with policy and acceptable the scheme would provide a good range of larger family-sized units with a good standard on accommodation and as to parking five parking spaces are proposed on site which has been again assessed to be compliant with policy the application is recommended for approval subject to conditions thank you we have four people listed of objectives we can only hear two so i don't know who is who is here now who would like to speak if you agreed which two are going to speak uh if you can turn the microphone on what's your name this is a picture of the face a picture of the face that's it that's it got it okay so are you on your neighbors right first of all my own are we just just who you are my name's rizwan koreshi sorry rizwan koreshi and i'm the resident of 56 woodside park road right yes thank you thank you if you can uh introduce yourself you have three minutes to speak you'll be given a warning when you have one minute left okay um my first point is that my understanding of the law is that it's got a built-in democratic factor every resident in the area has objected to this residence so i expect the committee based on this democratic principle to reject this development the other point i'd like to raise is from my point of view this application is invalid because it was wrongly validated by the planning department first of all they didn't have any scale or scale bar on their drawings secondly uh the site plan of the area is from 2016 it isn't the current uh site plan for the area so i failed to see with all these wrong informations how the planning department ever got to make that decision that or recommend approval for this scheme the other thing is in my view this contravenes council's own policies first of all i applied for planning application to my property which would have seen a first floor extension which was rejected i have no quarrel with that it was rejected that it was overbearing and it wasn't in keeping with the pattern of development on that street so this extension on four woodside avenue is going to result in a much much larger bulking than my extension was so i failed to see how the council can recommend uh this has been compliant with its own policies because they rejected mine this in effect is like adding a three-story extension to the existing property and it is huge uh that's my first point uh it's going to disrupt the development pattern of the street and if this application is allowed to carry on then what's to prevent every other uh house in that street becoming six flats i felt yeah a precedence will be set that's my thank you any questions no i think yes sorry to hear about your own problems with getting um i've got no problems with that i just i just well you brought it up so i just thought i thought i'd just ask you were you uh requesting to having a first for extension at the back of your property that's right yeah so that does differ to this this is on the side of the property no no no if you look at the development using the existing buildings as standard then the resulting bulk is a six meter three-story extension if you see what i mean no i don't see what you mean but um i have looked at the plans yeah it's uh it's uh it's outward projection is huge to the rear of the property on one floor no on three floors so we'll ask offices to clarify that with the planning offices any other questions no thank you very much um that so who else we've got three other names who else is speaking here just clarify that's okay with the other name and objectives that's no one else hoping to speak yes that's fine thank you and you you are i'll introduce myself good evening my name is mr chandok all right thank you yes i've lived in 12 oopside avenue since 1978 okay i'm just going to clarify you have three minutes to speak you'll be given a warning when you have one minute left fine thank you so basically i've lived in woodside avenue for 46 years in 1978 with my wife and i had two kids and then the third one was born in that house and there are six houses which are twins they're built by the same developer in 1945 number four six eight ten twelve and fourteen so when we purchased the house in 1978 they all looked like a tree lined detached houses on the right side and some victorian houses on the left hand side which were converted into flats recently one block was made of six flats without parking with 106 agreement and the other was 16 flats i don't know on what grounds they got it everybody objected but what we are finding now is that with this development they are going to change the entire connector of that street instead of detached houses we are going to start getting flats on the right side when we have none on the right side because there are six houses four six eight ten twelve and fourteen i'm number 12 since 1978 and number two excavation of the basement is going to threaten the foundations of all the adjoining houses because 1945 built houses are all having one meter deep foundations i did my own development my house was virtually back was demolished and done in 2002 and we made sure because of the crease at the back we had to go deeper foundations and with this excavation houses number four uh six eight and ten are going to be very badly affected and lastly it will be me as well at number 12 so we will have structural problems including subsidence and cracks in our walls because i've never seen any excavation in woodside avenue where you got a basement being done in the whole of woodside avenue i will ask you to check your planning records and the other question is basically parking is a nuisance now there's no space at all and as the previous applicants have pointed out to your good selves that basically people who even with 106 agreements they will try and use the resident parking spaces which are limited in the area between 6 p.m to 8 a.m in the morning and my only concern is that if i was right the gentleman was explaining there are two flats on the ground floor with basement two on the first floor that makes it four and one in the second floor but you're saying planning for six i don't know how the addition is done is it two two and one or is it two two and two that's my question to the planning officer and the parking should be minimum six to eight cars and i think there is not enough parking in the entire street you can't have two cars passing by parking on the left with single car only i had an accident on 22nd of november 2023 i nearly died my car was written off outside the new block of flats outside number four thank you thank you questions class roberts i'm just trying to understand where you're going are you against flats in principle my objection is basically it will change the character of the street totally already we have lost edwardian edwardian houses with big gardens converted into blocked two blocks of flat ones with six flats with section 106 no parking and the other one got 16 flats eight and eight they are on the corner of woodside park road and woodside avenue i had the accident outside there because the car came from the station and hit me at 50 miles per hour and the guy was prosecuted by the police and i'm waiting for my thing to be sorted on the high court for the injuries i suffered i'm sorry to hear about your accent but we're talking about the developments taking place in in the road you you say no flat should be allowed in that road that's my personal belief because already there's 22 flats down on that corner you can check your records if i'm wrong that was an edwardian house which was knocked down i know jeremy leaves told it and basically there's one block with six flats no parking and the other is 16 facts eight and eight joined together on the corner the planning officer will be best to answer that yeah so i can appreciate you saying that those houses are all the same but looking looking at the report um 16 to 18 woodside avenues that's next to where where you live uh that was allowed on appeal for for being demolished and there is precedent for this um but and and then 42 woodside avenue it's also been approved for conversion to five flats so there are precedents for this and and i know you're going to say that but also also i would say that from the design of this study large and there will be a basement which you have concerns about but otherwise it looks very similar to the the house at the moment so is that really going to affect the the impression of that row of houses number 16 and number 18 don't have any basements if i'm right they did they were not permitted any basement they wanted basement it was rejected on the first time second time they made it without the basement and they are not they are not detached houses so your the basement is the main concern definitely because it's going to affect the foundations of the existing six houses which are joining number four i'm number 12 i'm still four doors away rather than number six mr shah and number eight i think the vaswanis have sold out and somebody else has moved in number 10 the mr george they are very very concerned that's why they did not allow more than two speakers so we decided i would represent the people in woodside avenue and the gentleman my colleague will be representing woodside park road and there's a very strong objection i think there were over 50 objectors for that application and i'm i can't understand it obviously housing is needed but you're destroying the complete character of the street even number 16 and 18 have not started development i think they can't do the funding or something of the sort i know you permitted through the appeal about six or seven flats over there and there are two two properties which are joined together whereas this is a single one and you're permitting six flats which is an over development believe you me you try coming into that street i've been there 46 years and we love that area very very much okay thank you very much no no further questions thank you very much thank you um let me have the the agent the agent here i have garris stockbridge thank you mr stockbridge you have three minutes to speak you've given the warning when you have one minute left thank you good evening my name is garris stockbridge and i'm the agent for the application um we've been working closely with the planning department on this project for just over a year initially starting with pre-application advice which highlighted certain constraints and required amendment this was taken on board in the preparation of the subsequent formal planning application submitted in september 2023 since this time we have been in close contact with the planning department undertaking several rounds of amendments to address points raised during the consultation period and also changes in council policy as a result of this the matting of the proposal has been reduced and the number of units has also been decreased we have noticed several of the objection letters referring to the character of the road and the fact that the flats could affect this however as stated within the planning officer's report this issue was raised within the recent appeal decision at number 16 woodside avenue where the inspector decided that the character of the road had already changed drawing on references to other flooded developments that have been approved and constructed within the nearby area this has been followed up by subsequent planning approvals granted similar developers for similar redevelopment proposals within the road the proposed new building has been carefully designed to respect site constraints providing a stepped design to reduce impact on neighbouring properties the overall height has been set to keep the new building within the established roof line of the street we believe therefore that the scheme provides a high quality development of mixed accommodation sizes it conforms to planning policies and agree with the planning department that the application should be approved thank you thank you i just like to ask about the i mean you've you've commented that as i as i said that there are precedents with this um that the inspector has said that it's not out of character the difference with this one is is the basement yeah and the light well so i wonder if you could comment a little bit about the necessity for that the impact that that might have well the light the light well is set because of the depth of the front garden which is very deep the light well is set behind quite away from the pavement will be largely invisible it has planting around it so visually from the streets it would hardly be noticed the basement adds additional space it'll be built in accordance with building control structural designs and party wall awards which will be required if planning permission is consented thank you any further questions no that's all thank you very much thank you any questions the officers no so i think we're going to just go to the vote on that one the officers are recommending approval all those in favor of approval that's all thank you that application is approved i'll try and get through them all now that we're moving on to russell lane e-charger in russell lane okay so members are advised that this item has a corresponding advert app being heard in conjunction so i'm going to make just one presentation but then there'll be two votes subsequent to the discussion this application relates to the installation of an electric vehicle charging point on russell lane close to the junction with gallants farm road the unit will be situated on the outer edge of the broad pavement fronting the commercial parade servicing the first bay of the corresponding existing on-street parking the proposed unit will be 2.65 meters high and typical of those being rolled out across the borough by jolt in conjunction with the council the proposal will retain 3.5 meters of clear footway in line with the expectations of the tfl streetscape gardens and the disability act and the proposal is considered to be commensurate with the mixed commercial character of the setting and supports the rollout of net zero infrastructure in line with the strategic objectives of the development plan and is therefore recommended for approval thank you uh it's mr white here rub white's an object yes that you rub white right okay uh yeah the projector isn't here then yeah if you'd like to come speak then yeah so yeah you can introduce yourself and then again you'll have three minutes to speak be given a warning when you have one minute there thank you uh good evening councillors and everyone in attendance my name is patrick thomas and i'm the planning manager for jolt charge as you know jolt has been working in partnership with barnet council to deliver affordable on-street charging powered entirely by renewable energy to date we've installed 36 chargers which have delivered two and a half million clean miles to over 2 500 customers most of whom live in barnet the applications before you tonight are the culmination of months of hard work and considered site selection with your officers and stakeholders we are pleased officers have recommended the applications for approval and statutory consultees have raised no objections we would like to thank officers for their thorough report and collaborative working there are many benefits that flow from approving the jolt charger whether environmental social or economic it's worth remembering that electric vehicles benefit every resident whether they drive or not in barnet the car remains the principal mode of travel accounting for approximately 44 of all trips made barnet residents own 142 000 private cars which is the second highest level of car ownership in london approximately 4 000 deaths per annum in london are attributed to air pollution barnet has one of the highest rates with 201 deaths per year as a result in 2010 the whole borough of barnet was designated an air quality management area jolt is the only charging operator that provides a financial incentive offering 15 minutes of free charging equivalent to 30 miles for those without driveways to choose an electric vehicle we understand that electric vehicles and associated charging is new and there is a lot of misinformation out there the simple fact is that all residents will benefit from a greater number of electric vehicles on barnet's roads there are clear economic benefits a recent survey showed that around 80 of jolt customers spend in local shops whilst they are charging boosting the high street and local economies jolt promotes local businesses and charities through free advertising on screens this will be offered to all the businesses along russell lane jolt is already supporting charities and organizations such as the arts depot nor finchley and local independent businesses in temple fortune and mill hill to quote a local business owner in barnet since advertising on jolt screens we've seen a big increase in our business and the numbers through our doors we'd never have been able to afford this sort of advertising their presence is really making a difference barnet has rightly set ambitious carbon reduction targets and with 41 percent of emissions coming from transportation jolts can make a significant contribution towards these targets we hope members agree that the applications before them promote sustainability and green economic growth and can support the officer's recommendation for approval thank you for your time and we'd be happy to answer any questions thank you now i know that so the job charges are being you've identified sites and almost always not all wards in the borough and they're coming piecemeal to this committee at least two of us have had these installed in our wards already with more or less number of objections and concerns so this is another one that that on the face of it seems to have fewer concerns than than those in our in our particular wards so are there any further questions councilor roberts i just want to ask how long does it take to install these things and how disruptive is in terms of cabling and what else needs to be installed with it yeah that's a very good question it's very much down to um uk power networks and where the point of connection is obviously some installations are more straightforward than others where it's where the point of connection is close but i guess we'd hope to you know really do it within a week yeah five five working days um well i think once once again it's dependent on the point of connection obviously there's there's less disruption um for example if you you know don't have to cross a road for example so if it's in the existing pavement line that's that's very straightforward um but in many ways we're dictated to by uk power networks on where we connect to it's not it's not up to us we're unfortunately we get told by uk power networks where we have to connect the questions about a very minor question the this unit will just charge one vehicle is that correct that that's correct just one vehicle double check okay no further questions thank you very much thank you uh any questions to the officers yes kasler conway is it is it with an ev bay only or is it just for the charger uh well the application doesn't consider the designation of the bay understand from previous applications that have come before the committee that that's part of a separate uh some series of discussions with the highway authority to then go around and demarcate the bays um afterwards but it's not part of this planning application as such okay thank you um now there are two applications this one for installing installing the equipment and the other for using it for advertising do we have to take votes on those separately or i mean that they rely on each other we can't we can't if we if we vote for one and not the other then they don't go through we take them separately okay so we will go to the for the first one down here is item 12 which is for the uh no that's the item 13 i think is is should we go for first which is installing the equipment for pre-charging that if that makes sense yeah for the installation so the officers recommend approval those in favor of approval that's all and the other item for use of it for advertising that's and that's approved as well as those two items are approved and we now move on we're doing really well this evening move on to i think the final item torrington court so the final item is torrington court and torrington park in north finchley it's an existing development with three blocks of flats and the proposal is to create five additional flats on the roof two of the blocks will have the existing pitched roof converted to a crown and dorm windows incorporated to provide flats and the larger block will have a whole new floor with a pitched roof added to provide additional flats to that block so this is the site it's not working this is the site here so these two blocks are two stories high at the moment and this one is three that's an aerial view and some site photographs so the side elevations of the two smaller blocks front onto the road block a at the back is the one that's higher but it is set well back from the street frontage and the bottom right shows the rear elevation at the moment and the communal garden area you'll notice this existing external fire escapes those are going to be removed as part of the proposal and the existing flats will be given juliet balconies on the rear elevations uh some more photos those are the existing ground and first floor plans the existing second floor which is only at the moment on the block at the back and the existing elevations showing the relationship with neighbouring properties the property on the left hand side is actually a listed building it's one of three properties that are listed and the existing elevations and sections and again that shows the fire escapes to the rear which are going to be removed so the proposed block plan shows the frontage area which is currently used for sort of haphazard parking there's a block of garages around the back which don't actually form part of this application site and they're not used by residents they're used for storage according to the applicant so the proposal includes the provision of additional parking laid out at the back to serve these new flats the proposed ground and first floors part of the works involves internal alterations to lobbies around the staircase to ensure that the staircase is compliant as an escape stair given the existing external stairs are being removed but that's all internal work that's a new proposed second floor so you've got two flats in each of the sorry two flats on the block at the back at at this level and one flat in each of the two lower blocks at the front and then the additional flatter within the roof space of block a which is the one to the rear so you can see looking at the roof plan there are no dormers facing the neighboring properties at to the sides the dormers for the front blocks are inward facing facing each other and the other block a block a has normal windows within the rear elevation but that is some distance from the rear boundary so there's no concerns over overlooking from those windows that's a more detailed roof plan and the proposed elevations the red outline is the existing building so you can see the increase in height provided to the larger block at the back and then the smaller blocks which are actually not increasing in height they're just increasing in the shape in the shape of the roof which will be slightly increased to create more of a crown roof and some other elevations and that's the location in context within the street so as those two blocks at the front aren't actually increasing in height they're just increasing in terms of the pitch to create the crown roof and the block that is having the increased floor is set well back from the street frontage so the proposal officers consider is is in keeping in in this part of the street the increased height to the rear is not considered to be particularly overbearing given how far it's set back there's no increase in footprint the fenestration changes are acceptable in terms of their appearance and given the relationships of the building to the neighbors and the fact there are no normal windows on the side elevations that would overlook the neighboring gardens there's considered to be no adverse impacts on the neighboring amenities and the application is recommended for approval thank you thank you we have no speakers on this one so i'll ask the agent for the application to come forward thank you if you can turn the microphone on there's a face picture face that's it let's introduce yourself you have five minutes to speak and if you give me a warning when you have one minute left thank you good evening committee my name is Oliver virtual from brooks mary architects i am the architect for this this application the scheme submitted for your consideration is a simple development which represents a sustainable way of delivering housing and optimizing the potential of a previously developed site the current proposal is a result of constructive engagement with your officers which started with a pre-application meeting over a year ago we've worked closely with your officer to make suggested amendments to our design including a reduction in the massing of the proposal to protect the surrounding streetscape and neighboring amenity the revised scheme with its reduced scale and number of units is here tonight with full recommendation for approval from your officer we appreciate that some neighbors have concerns with regard to the application we have a chance to review those applications and acknowledge that some of them are rightly understandable development control worries including privacy overlooking and overshadowing however your officer has exhaustively examined each of these concerns and concluded the impact of the proposal on its immediate surrounding falls within acceptable limits other residents are understandably concerned about noise and disruption caused by the construction works my client is an experienced developer who has successfully undertaken many similar schemes across north london and if the application is successful a construction management plan will be submitted for approval under condition my client's team will continue to engage with residents to constantly ensure that they are consulted and kept informed and works slightly across to um i noticed uh i've heard via by the officer that there was some comments about the removal of fire escape stairs the existing flaws on block a which is the the taller of the blocks is to be adapted to as per the submitted drawings to include protected lobbies with double doors at each entrance to each unit and this will ensure that the main stair of the primary block is a fully compliant fire escape stair with venting windows going forward this solution is much safer for residents than using external staircases which are obviously susceptible to getting wet and therefore slippy thank you in summary the scheme represents a good represents an opportunity to provide five new good quality homes without any long-term harm to the amenity of existing residents the proposed scheme will also give our client the opportunity of enhancing the existing state estate for example through the provision of dedicated waste stores which the building does currently doesn't have secure cycle parking for both new and existing residents as well as enhanced landscaping thank you thank you any questions um i'd just like to ask a little bit more about removing the fire escapes and you've mentioned that so can you confirm um that this this meets fire regulations that what what are the arrangements because only one staircase and one exit for people to escape so um on the large on the larger of the blocks which obviously um poses the most uh danger if you will the um submitted plans have um the addition of an additional lobby to each of the units all over the building so that you uh as you're escaping you go through two doors two sets of doors which prevents smoke from flats getting into that lobby uh which with the stairs in it the stairs then have a um have windows all the way up which vents the smoke out so that that that if that staircase that comes all the way down the building will be a safe way to escape the building um we had we did discuss that the the removal of the removal of the the fire escape stairs with your with your officer and and we originally had them remaining as balconies um we've then because they were not satisfied that was a good solution we've reduced them back to to juliet balconies as i said at the moment they're not they're not um they're not a particularly safe way of escaping from a building okay so you have you have reports from the fire service that this isn't approved um we we we have used you know we're um we we do a lot of this form of development we have um our target obviously will be will be the um compliance with part b of the building regulations at um building control stage what we have designed allows us to fulfill that duty and we will obviously be seeking building control approval when we when we get back i mean clearly you know fire is a major concern absolutely this is a nobody large one but we have had fires in in smaller blocks in bonnet as well so no no this is one thing one of the other comments on the objections was about the removal of trees i think there may have been trees that were removed before that are now going to be replaced i'm not sure if you can comment i can't speak for what's happened um prior to to my involvement in this scheme from from 2021 then there i think there were trees at the front of the front front of the site which i believe were lay land eyes so not particularly high quality you will see on our drawings you can see just up there that at the front of the site we're proposing to bring back some landscaping and i believe your office has conditioned a a full landscaping scheme which which will certainly enhance the area no trees are being removed for this not past this application thank you councillor calick sorry this question is just for my education i was always told to believe that um that leaving windows open where events open fuels fires and yet you're saying it's there to um let the smoke out so i'm a little bit confused on that point so the the the theorem would be that if there was a fire in a flat in the building the additional lobby that we've added to the building would stop that smoke getting into the fire sorry into the staircase beyond and because the staircase has existing had windows that are open all the way up that's that staircase will a be prevented by that lobby from from filling with smoke and if for whatever reason it did any smoke that goes into that staircase will rise up the staircase and straight out the windows on the outside of the building does that make sense uh i i could refer you to to the to the part of them in this with this building would become what's called a small single stair building in the building regulations and it would be compliant with that with that um building regulation that's i mean that that's why we've brought those lobbies into these into these buildings into this building to to fulfill our duty under the building regulations to to ensure that there's a a safe means of escape for these blocks for this block of flats given the exchange that's just occurred about the removal of the escapes and how fire risk continues to be mitigated it might be useful to hear briefly from the officer to clarify that of course the internal matters would be a matter for building regulations but just to reassure members for the record before a decision is taken the officers should briefly clarify yeah any other questions for the yes so if if officers could clarify about when this meets fire regulations for fire escapes with their external fire escapes well obviously we as part of the planning process we don't deal with building regulations so we've been told that the works they're proposing internally will make the internal staircase suitable for being used as an escape staircase by the measures that the agent just talked about so if that is the case and it's then complying with building regulations then it's not a matter that we need to be concerned about and there's no requirement for a fire statement um as per government policy because the building's not it's not 18 meters high so it doesn't need to to go through the formal process of having the fire strategy approved which is different for high-rise buildings four floors is quite high to jump out of the window if you think i'll get it is but in terms of sort of national requirements it has to be an 18 meter high building to require the additional submission of additional statements so chair i was concerned about this also and my my understanding is now that correct me from if i'm wrong um to the planning officer that the escapes having been removed building regulations have satisfied themselves that the internal staircase is sufficient to allow for escape and some of the other documentation is not required i just wanted that noted for um clarity on the record that this has been considered that it's been taken care of elsewhere through building regulations particularly given the removal of those structures and i think that clarification has been given now i think i think the agent said they haven't people don't apply for building control approval until they've got planning permission so but he's obviously if he's experienced he's done these kind of with this work before he's clear i mean if for some reason they do have to change the plan and that has a material change on planning permission they'd obviously need to come back to to vary their planning permission so as far as i understand fire safety is is i think it's dealt with by building ricks yes this particular application okay thank you very much no other comments or concerns we'll go to the vote on this one the officers are recommending approval all those in favor of approval that's all that application is approved thank you very much um now the next meeting is in is there only two weeks i think on wednesday the 9th um so we're proposing site visits on tuesday the 8th if that's suitable colleagues and we'll probably we'll have the virtual briefing on the same day but that's to be confirmed but certainly site visits on the tuesday yes if that's not cancelled that's that's that's yes that's yes that's on the tuesday street yeah yeah all at once okay thank you very much

Transcript

Everybody, thank you for attending. It's seven o'clock now so we're going to start the meeting. I'm Councillor Claire Farrier, the chair of this planning committee, so thank you all for attending and I will now ask members of the committee to introduce themselves and then the planning officers and the legal officer and governance officer. So start with you Councillor Roberts. Do you all hear me sorry? Yeah I thought someone. You don't need that twice. Councillor Richard Barnes. I'm Mark Springthorpe. I'm one of the planning managers. I'm Lesley Feldman, the other planning manager. Jonathan Mills, planning manager, Patrice. Suzanne Yildiz. I'm the legal advisor to committee this evening. Carina Dimitriou, governance officer. All right, thank you. Now we ask that you remain seated during the meeting unless you're coming to the table to address the committee. Please note that the meeting will be recorded and broadcast as allowed for in law and by the council, so by attending either in person or online you may be picked up on recordings. So our recordings are covered by our privacy notice and that can be found on the website bonnet.gov.uk. Now for each application the planning officer will first present the applications, then each speaker will have three minutes to address the committee and the governance officer will inform you when there is one minute left. After that the members of the committee will have the opportunity to ask questions of the speakers and then of the officers and we will then discuss and the committee will determine the application and I will announce the committee's decision after that. So when you come to the table we'll ask you to turn your microphone on which will help you with if you can't see the button to turn it on with and we can only have one microphone on at a time to ensure no feedback. So going on to the agenda now. The minutes of the last meeting and members read that, approve that, five minutes. Absence of members, I think all members of the committee are here this evening. Do any members have any interests to declare? No that's right, dispensations granted by the monitor officer, there are none. An addendum has been published and sent out to all members, I hope you've all seen that and officers will refer to what's in the addendum when they present each item. So we're going to move on to the first proper item on the agenda which is the Thomas Watson Cottage Homes in Leecroft Road in Barnet. I'm going to ask the officers to present that. Good evening councillors, the application for you tonight has come before committee because there's implications on the decision on the public purse. The application is to fell four London plane trees and to reduce two oak trees by around six and five metres. This is the site plan and the protected trees here. This is the protected oak tree one and the protected oak tree is this one here and the protected London plane trees are located within this group here and this group there. This is the aerial view of the site, there's the oak tree. The implicated houses are just these two here, the 11 and 12 Leecroft Road and the London plane trees are located here. This is the applicant site plan which shows the location of the damages on the properties which are all located towards the London plane trees which are six and seven there and ten and eleven here, sorry eleven and twelve which are those two there and the affected properties is that one there. T13 is the other oak tree here and that's T1 the oak tree. This is the site photographs, this is T1 which is a large mature and established oak tree. These are T7 and 8 which are the oak trees here, sorry London plane trees, these two here and these are 11 and 12 which is these two trees here and this is T13 the oak tree there. The damage occurring in the property can be seen quite readily with cracks down the walls around the windows and there by the windows there which is typical for general subsidence cases and it's also visible outside the property just here by the windows and then just around the base of the bay window. There's no relevant history for the trees and these properties in the past although there was movement that was being repaired in 2013 and 14. Our engineers have looked at the application and have concluded that the London plane trees are directly implicated in the movement. He also asked for DNA samples but London plane trees are clones so they're genetically similar so a DNA sample wouldn't be beneficial so it's likely that of those four plane trees one or all of them are affecting the properties. They also agreed a possibility of root barrier would be a feasible mitigation for the movement and the key considerations that the evidence provided is that the London tree roots have been identified underneath both properties in causing the damage. There was no oak trees found oak tree roots found underneath the properties but the applicants have decided to take precautionary measures to provide to reduce the trees and then the cost if the application is concluded that the evidence isn't sufficient there's maybe an excess of £105,000 compensation costs may be liable to the council. So the recommendation is based on the evidence provided to whether the remedy of subsidence on the basis of the information provided. Thank you. Thank you. We have no speakers on this item and I don't think the applicant is speaking either. So do members have any questions? Councillor O'Connor. Thank you. In your opinion would a root barrier be as effective as removing the trees? They can be yes. So the root barriers effectively are three to four meter deep trench dug around the affected properties and then they insert a copper barrier that seals completely separates the trees from the properties. But from from the evidence that you've described would sound to me like there's no evidence that the oak trees are causing problems so my inclination would be to leave them alone. Would it be a possibility to reduce the crown of the the plane trees? Would that that's not what the application I know that's not what yeah would that be another alternative? I know that's not what the application is. The problem with doing that is the insurance companies and the thing is it has to be done on a repeated basis so and then to make a meaningful difference to have to reduce 50 to 60 percent of the whole crown of the tree which should then render the tree with virtually no visual amenity and so it's perhaps if you're going to do that it's perhaps better to remove the trees in totality and plant more appropriate species. Okay thank you. Mr Roberts? No thank you chair. That site has a substantial number I don't know how many I've never counted but substantial number of mature trees there and particularly remove those four plane trees would would very much alter the perspective of that estate is that not the case? It would have an impact on the visual character of the estate but they were planted as part of they appear to be planted as part of the landscaping and and they don't predate the development itself so they're sort of part of the landscaping of it. Those London plane trees have a capability to grow to 25 30 meters tall so eventually and they're growing quite close together so at some point they'll need some intervention anyway for our bicultural reasons. Bearing in mind the trees came off to the building and the buildings are quite old would you consider the foundations of the building to be adequate? The the buildings were built in 1905 somewhere around then so the issues around subsidence and clay soils wasn't considered so the buildings were built to stand of a traditional standard at the time they were built. Thank you there's no more questions or comments we'll go to a vote now we're asked to either approve this application or refuse the application as you can see on there so all those in favor of approval three and refusal three so that's that's three for refusal three for approval so the chair has a casting vote and I vote to refuse this application so this application has been refused and we now move on to the next item which is East Barnet school all right okay so this application relates to the installation of flood lighting to the existing sports pitch to the south side of East Barnet school the pitch sits atop a plateau surrounded by an embankment and enclosed by semi transparent fencing predominantly three meters in height rising to five meters along the ends with additional ball netting behind the goals at around eight meters or so as a result of the embankment the surrounding adjoining properties sit at a lower level however the scheme has been amended to cite the single flood lights along the sides and increase the number of lights on the end columns to two so it was previously reversed containing the light more effectively and reducing the amount of light spill behind the goals the scheme has also been upgraded to incorporate maximum cutoff louvers and maximum nine degree tilt which will also mitigate the impact with deliberate reference to the level change to the surrounding properties the proposal would support the operation of the school and the associated community use including the corollary health benefits in accordance with the ambitions of the core strategy and the ecology officer has sustained no objection as such the proposal is recommended for approval thank you we have two speakers Costas Nicola and Emma Godley so I think I've got Costas Nicola speaking in objection if you'd like to knit so Nicola Costas is it Costas Nicola or Nicola Costas I'm not sure Costas Mr Nicola hello I believe you're objecting so if you take a seat okay thank you and then if you can turn the microphone on there's a face picture at the bottom do you see that the face speaking face there can you press that press it yet I just pressed the face the picture of the face below you might need to come and show you something that's difficult to see it no that's it that's it that's on and then you'll have three minutes if you introduce yourself you have three minutes to speak and we'll let you know when you've got a minute left okay hello I'm here to represent the views of the majority of local residents who are strongly opposed to this proposal initially I should stress that we residents we are tolerant reasonable citizens and local neighbors of the school but we have genuine concerns and we hope that these questions and concerns are going to be as follows which I'm going to read to you firstly we have the big concern about noise pollution residents are very worried about the anti-social noise that will come from this proposal which would disturb our bright to peaceful enjoyment in our homes we already experience excessive noise daily during every school day during the evenings and at weekends when this pitch is in use and this proposal would dramatically increase that secondly a lack of data there is uncertainty about future noise and light pollution levels how have current noise levels been evaluated for this application and what measures will be taken to monitor the noise levels to ensure compliance with legal standards next illumination times residents oppose the proposed illumination times if the proposal was to go forward reducing operating times for the lights would be essential and we would request clear documentation on those changes the school starts generating intrusive noise from 8 30 on weekdays and 9 a.m at weekends your this proposal would mean that residents have to tolerate noise up to 12 and a half hours a day during the week and seven hours a day at weekends there is no volume control or switch off button when there is noise on the pitch and 22 people are running around the only way to control that would be to reduce the hours the lights would be on next light pollution flood lights will be intrusive to our property and our way of life with light spillage in our back lanes gardens and homes the lighting is shown to some extent to mitigate light pollution but as we know there will be still still be light spillage bright light and intrusive green glow from the pitch generating pollution given post proximity of our homes how can this be acceptable lastly community engagement many residents feel sidelined by the school what measures will the school take to include resident views if the proposal moves forward such as joint review groups or site visits we understand that both the school and the sports club would be operating on this site this is a community school in the residential area and dual use of the site in this way would cause excessive disturbance in conclusion the majority of residents firmly oppose the proposed flood lights due to significant concerns about noise pollution insufficient data current future impacts and intrusive light spillage we urge the committee and the school to address these concerns thoughtfully before any decisions are made residents deserve to have their voices heard and considered in this important matter in our daily lives thank you thank you uh first of all listen the glove could you say exactly where you live i live in richway avenue sorry one of the houses at one of the end of the pitches on the left or the pitch can we point out is that your unit probably close to the the end of the penalty area on the goal mouth on the left just about there okay and you're talking very much about noise which we we do appreciate but how much noise are you hearing at the moment up until four o'clock every day from the pitch and well from the pitch on school grounds we obviously hear um when the kids are out on morning breaks when they're out at lunch break um they're out playing running around so we put up with that because we live near a school and we appreciate that is that is that on the pitch or is that just general that's on the pitch and in the grounds when the kids come out of breaks and then after school we can hear kids running around doing things and then i think up to three days during the week the pitch is in use in the evenings during the summer and sometimes that is quite excessive but the worst of it is at the weekends on a saturday and sunday morning in in summer literally we're not able to open our windows are going to the garden because there is screaming and shouting and quite a foul language sometimes which we've complained for school and schools plus about several times right yeah i mean i hope that school might have might discuss that with you i mean clearly that is a nuisance but of course that will continue whether or not there are floodlights there well yes the only time we get the really uh a graceful of peace from that is during winter when it's pitch black and it's peace and quiet and we can sit back and enjoy it if these lights come in we'll literally have this going up to every single day of the year okay thank you any other questions yes council conway sorry do you know what the distance is from the end of your house until the beginning from the end of our garden to the actual pitch of the fencing is probably i would say roughly about 20 to 25 meters thank you no oh Councillor Roberts um just funny are you aware the school it is is or has planted trees kind of first small kind of trees at the top end certainly the top end i didn't see further down at the top end where it's next to the school premises i think which when those trees grow up they will provide shelter from noise and light coming from those pitches well i don't i don't really think that would excessively or reduce any noise or whatever because it's an open area it's a it's the size of a full football pitch and it's open all the way around i don't think that would reduce noise much in my opinion but the trees are on their fence line so as they as they grow up they will provide a barrier i don't think they'll provide a barrier with 22 grown men or teenagers running around playing a football match we're literally in our house we can stand in the bedroom and even with windows closed sometimes the noise is excessive and unbearable even with windows closed at the weekend okay thank you the picture we've been shown of what the site will look like with lights shows the light is only on the football pitch it's based on your speech and the paper here you disagree with that yes what that's based on well because obviously you will get a green glow from the lights going onto the pitch you'll get a green glow flowing in the atmosphere in the in the area thank you i think that's all the questions thank you very much and now we've got emma godley speaking in support of the application thank you thanks for having me thank you and again your microphone is on already you'll have if you introduce yourself then you have three minutes to speak and you'll be given a warning when's one minute left thank you thanks for having me today um unlike most the majority of those who have objected to this application i live on day land and i back on directly to the asbro pitch i moved to that location with an 11 month old baby and an eight-year-old child was i concerned about the noise and the profanity coming from the school yes of course absolutely i was however other redeeming factors outweighed that and i chose to move to my home behind the school despite those concerns nine years later and now with the nine nine and 17 year old having been through the toddler young and now older child and teenage stages we are a family who spends a lot of time outside and in our garden have my worries been justified no absolutely not yes there is occasional profanity however i emphasize the word occasional you do expect that with humans they swear sometimes the sounds of children playing or should i say teenagers playing of kids football clubs at the weekend of the occasional adults who already use the astro weeknights sometimes in the dark are joyous happy and enthusiastic sounds it sounds of adults teenagers and children who are passionate about kicking a ball around and burning off some energy while keeping both physical and mental health engaged these sounds are delightful they're not overly loud just a happy healthy healthy cheerful hum with regards to potential overspill light i don't believe that i it will have negative impact on my own home or garden nor that of my behind the astro neighbors many of whom are also supportive of this application however have not necessarily made a supportive notion on their application i welcome increased use of the facilities into the evening hours and strongly believe that amateur and social athletes will only add as a security deterrent helping to keep our home safe to be completely transparent as well as being a direct neighbor to the astro i also work at the school and i'm a parent of a year 13 student at east barnet and a year five pupil who probably will choose east barnet as his secondary choice east barnet school has a fantastic p.e department who are passionate about engaging our children in sport and activity i for sure fully support that drive and i trust that the committee today will see that the benefits to our community far outweigh the worries that some people may have worries much like my own nine years ago when i moved to my home on dane land that will prove to be unjust thanks for listening to me thank you i mean could you as well point out exactly where you live on the plan yeah so i'm i'm 80 day land if you see the astro on the right hand side i am the building that runs directly parallel to the top to the north side of the astro yeah pretty much in that circle at the bottom of your circle that you're making that's it that's me and my back fence is about four to five meters from the astro fence so your yes your house and your gardens are quite close to it very close yeah okay thank you any other questions counselor roberts just want to establish from what you said you don't find it disruptive at the present time not at all i think it's a lovely sound kids playing and adults went the pitch sometimes in the evenings it even that it's a lovely sound just men women kids having fun running around they're they're playing sport they're not they're trying to vandalize anything or they're not taking drugs or drinking i personally don't think so i've had a good look at the plans and the lights i'm familiar with football pitches i go to a few of them myself with my nine-year-old boy the lights are very focused there's barnet gate barnet gate astro 4g pitch on barnet gate lane and those floodlights are very focused there's no overspill onto the surrounding area i don't you know i will see the lights from my house but i don't believe that they're going to be coming into my territory in any in any sense of that do you any other no i mean i uh yeah scout's mechanic sorry um due to the nature of of the incline so um the incline is from the school falling away to the pitches yeah so there's a difference in height level yeah how do you think the the lights will affect your property because you're at the you're at the lowest end yeah well i guess that puts them more in my highline than people who are at a higher end but i don't think that it's going to affect my mental health or anyone in my household or in my neighboring houses i think we'll see them just like we can see excuse me just like we can see the the domestic lights on the other side of the astro now of people who live on ridgeway we can see their lights i'll be able to see these lights they'll just be a little bit closer and maybe taller but i don't feel like that should override the opportunity for more people in the community to look after themselves thank you any other questions the speaker no thank you very much thank you and then we have claire blondon who's down here is the agent yes is there a representative from the school yeah we've got claire blondon's name down here but if you can introduce yourself and then again you're 15 minutes sorry five minutes three minutes to speak hello i'm helen chamberlain i'm the school business leader at the school the school wish to request planning permission for the installation of floodlights to enhance the use of our facilities for both our students and the wider community the main driver is that they will enable an extended enrichment offer for students throughout the year increasing their physical and mental well-being students well-being is one of our top priorities and unfortunately many of our sports clubs have to be curtailed in the winter months because of the poor light limiting the free local and vital student enrichment activities that are accessible to all in 2020 the government invested in a national drive to encourage schools to open up their facilities for the benefits of communities and to enable schools to extend their facilities to sports and activity clubs also a condition of the redevelopment of this site in 2010 from sport england was that the school commit to making our facilities available to our local community we are a community school at all the outdoor clubs we currently let our facilities to our community groups offering sports activities to young people and adults the installation of floodlights would also enable the school to generate much further much needed funding to help with the upkeep and investment for the replacement of the astroturf which will in turn enhance the education and facilities available to our students the school building is now over 10 years old and we find that we need to update many of the facilities a priority being the astroturf prior to the application for floodlights the school is proud to say that it is not aware of receiving any complaints in respect of lettings related noise or other nuisance any complaints that we've received since the floodlight consultation have been investigated fully the school however acknowledges the issues raised by the local residents since we proposed this initiative an ecological survey has been carried out and as stated in the committee report any issues no the spill of light are mitigated through measures referenced in the lighting detail with regard to noise since opening the site in 2010 the school has had lettings averaging three nights a week during the summer months and during the day at weekends as per the application the school intends the use of floodlights for lettings for no more than three evenings a week no later than 9 p.m the school feel that measures taken together with restrictions on the timing of lettings are overall effective in ensuring that noise noise is not excessive we have a large car park which is available for use by lettings avoiding congestion and minimizing associated traffic noise the mitigation method measures as well as restrictive hours of use are considered to have an acceptable impact regarding lighting and ecology as confirmed by lighting and ecology officers noise impacts are considered to be adequately mitigated by the restrictive opening hours and would not lead to subsequent infrastructure impacts such as traffic and parking stress and would enable the use of the pitch in the winter months in line with existing youth youth the benefits to the school would be enormous thank you thank you um can i just confirm that the times of this we've got here that the flag lights will not be certainly lit after 9 p.m on weekdays and 4 p.m on weekends that's correct so i mean currently you know we're just past the mid-summer and evenings are starting to get but but currently how much are they used during those times during the times that would be affected by floodlights so at the moment we have lettings during the summer up to around three evenings a week a couple of them are no later than eight o'clock and then we do have football letting on a saturday morning into the afternoon so this might extend it to winter months but overall the impact you fear is that it's not going to be any greater than it is now no it will just get extended into the winter months so we're not we're not intending to extend the number of lettings that we currently have in the summer into the winter because we we want to ensure that we're supportive of residents and want to ensure that we're minimizing the impact as far as possible yeah i mean i asked this because clearly clearly we can't do anything particularly about the noise no that's not under planning but it's whether the installation of these floodlights will it will increase that nuisance um with regard to the nuisance that we've heard from from the ejector and there there are 45 ejectors i think saying the same kind of thing what kind of relationship do you have with local people they can come and complain and you'll take their concerns address concerns yes i mean as i've said in my um speech any um complaint that we've had has been fully investigated so there was a particular resident who was concerned and we've had a number of meetings with her the lettings company that we employ to kind of look after our lettings went around there on a saturday morning to kind of measure the noise the deputy head teacher who's been on site when there's been complaints has been down and we haven't found it to be excessive but obviously she's concerned and we've done as much as we can to kind of support that but as i said that that that those complaints came after we put our application in for the floodlights we hadn't received those complaints prior to that and we haven't had any change since really we opened in 2010 in terms of the number of lettings that we have during the summer and clearly we have a number of people in support as well as we've heard so yep thank you very much other questions counselor calick thank you um when we visited the school to to to see the site and to see the effect you would have on the neighborhood you and you erected large netting at both ends to stop walls going into people's gardens to alleviate their concerns should in the future there be major concerns of like could you put blackout screens on the other sides of the curtain but potentially if there are concerns and it's something that we can look at i mean as i as i explained when when you came this morning we are concerned about the neighbors we had an issue where the balls and it wasn't through lettings it was the student as they were playing football were going into one of the neighbors um gardens and was causing her distress so at our expense we arranged to have that netting put up so we're very responsive we want to do as much as we can but at the same time we want to ensure that our students are getting the best um offer that we can we can give them questions counselor roberts again on on the site visit just confirming there were some quite substantial tree plantations there which in in the fullness of time not not next year but but moving forward will provide protection from the light falling on the rear gardens yes absolutely yes and they were there planted for that purpose by the school yes all right thank you okay if there's no further questions thank you very much thank you any questions to the officers no otherwise we'll go straight to the vote then um the officers are recommending approval of this item almost in favor of approval that's all so this item has been approved and we move on now to the next item which is 21 Hampstead gardens thank you chair this application relates to 21 Hampstead gardens the conversion of an existing dwelling into three flats including part single part two-story extensions roof extension and other alterations to the roof and roof lights and associated amenity space refuse and cycle storage the extensions themselves have the benefit of a separate permission and as we saw on site this morning are currently being built on site that's the location plan the property is at the end of a cul-de-sac backing um onto hoop lane cemetery to the east so this is the that's the end property here this is the cemetery some site photographs um so that's the existing side access way to the onto the next the cemetery the front elevation this is the rear elevation so this is the boundary line here so this is a small extension at the neighboring property at ground floor level and this current existing two-story outrigger the existing elevations this is sorry this is the property here so that's existing and these are the existing side elevation the existing floor plans ground floor plan and the existing garden first floor plan and the roof sections these are the approved elevations for the extensions that are currently being built so this is the property here so this is the rear the that existing outrigger has been extended sideways coming no further rearward but to the side so main extension here two-story small dormer in the roof that's the approved roof plan so the proposed elevations are essentially the same at the rear and this is the front this is the extension here so the first floor is extended partly over the ground floor but retaining this passageway for access to the rear the proposed side elevation the dormer window which would overlook the cemetery the floor plans showing a family-sized five three-bed five-person unit at ground floor they'd have their own private garden here and the remaining garden is for allocated for the other two flats access down this side passageway there's no car parking existing or proposed on the front here and that would be the remain these are the bike stores and refuse areas which could be positioned on this part of the site you'll see in the recommendation that there is a proposal to have a legal agreement to restrict future occupiers from having car parking residents car parking permits within the cpz these are the proposed upper floor plans so there's a two-bed unit on the first floor and then a split level one-bed unit over this part of the first floor and within the loft the proposed roof plan and sections which show adequate head heights for all floors to provide decent amenity for the future occupiers so the main considerations are that the works with the exception of roof lights and the subdivision of the garden all have planning permission by virtue of a house extension application the application is compliant with the council's emerging and adopted policies in relation to flat conversions and officers consider it's acceptable in terms of the impact on the character of the property has set out in the report highways raised no objections subject to these 106 agreements restrict parking permits and approval is recommended thank you thank you we have two speakers on this item karin yet brand and atul monger either both of you there doesn't matter which order which one you wish to speak in can i is that my case uh yes you're mr monger yes thank you please do if you can take a seat um if you can introduce yourself and then you'll have three minutes to speak you'll be given a warning when you have one minute left sure thank you okay um i speak here on behalf of all the residents of the cul-de-sac i own number 17 which is part of the mid-terrace that's been impacted by this you will note that 18 of us had objected to this initially when the first allocation came up and when the delegated report of 14 january or 14 june was put up it simply referenced a part single part two story and all the references to three apartment blocks was taken away which appears to have been misleading at best and seems to have led people to believe that it is now just two apartments rather than three which is highly objectionable i think more importantly the proposal for conversion into family dwellings but in the absence of adequate parking very clearly does not encourage families to either own or rent such apartments and as we've seen in the houses that have been converted it clearly thanks to the in the creation of multiple kitchens and multiple bathrooms results in single occupants per whom becoming the predominant dwellers of of such conversions and it's fair to say that 1069 finchley road which has converted into apartment blocks this is the former police station which was converted and has no parking permission has had a lot of problem actually selling those apartments moving on based on the usage of the space between the cemetery wall and the current wall of the house of the terrace there is clearly if car parking is permitted there is clearly no possibility of a one meter space for people to pass through in case of an emergency leave aside even under normal circumstances to me and to the rest of us deciding on that road the reference to putting any kind of cycle parking is beyond bemusing because no no no house on the road that really has any cycle parking so it is really clearly likely to be misleading the conversion of other houses on the road should not be seen as a precedence because like i said it's used for purposes other than actually families being there and like i said the key thing for us is that the turning on that road the radius on the road for turning absolutely does not permit any extension on the side because it will only come at the expense of the current parking areas parking based on the road which defeats the entire purpose of actually not allowing additional parking for this house so i just struggle to understand how this complies with the standards okay thank you i mean with regards to parking there is a condition that occupiers of these flats would not be able to obtain a parking permit so that addresses the parking i would just like to clarify that the parking on that road is not restricted for all the 24 hours which means that after 6 30 p.m in the evening and before 9 30 in the morning there is no stoppage on anyone parking on that road this is very likely to encourage people to park on the road at the expense of existing residents and those that have cars on that road um yes i mean that this is aims that they're unlikely to be able to afford to to buy a car because they'll just park it during the day but that that is there that ameliorates that somewhat any other questions no we have no other questions for you thank you very much thank you and then we have the culling diasporan thank you and and again if you can introduce yourself then you have three minutes to speak yeah i'll try to be quick i wrote few words just to thank you not forget so i'm a house owner from the from dingwell gardens the parallel street and i've been living there for 18 years in the last few years we've been experiencing serious parking issues since the conversion of several houses on our street into two or three flats and hamster gardens became the only place for us to park our one car on most days also residents from neighboring streets are coming to park on our street as they have parking problems this is a consistent problem throughout the day and not only at night when the restrictions are not there so because we it's parking permits only until six six o'clock and then afterwards like the gentleman said anyone can park there on top of that bonnet council decided without consulting the resident to allocate two parking spaces for electric cars on all our small streets these are very small streets around us which means again less parking spaces for residents these are all small streets and the parking is very limited as it is increasing the numbers of homes will make it even harder for all of us and bear in mind that every household each household is allowed to have two parking permit permits and converting houses into flats in these small streets just means less car less parking and more stress for us we had few issues with neighbors over parking because they have three cars in one flat we have one car in a house and we own a house and we can't park our one house because they have three cars it's just it makes it very hard for all of us these are very very small streets and it's just making it very hard for all of us thank you okay thank you as i as i said to mr monger there is a condition that people who occupy these flats will not be able to have parking permits so if it's a single family house at the moment they can have two permits they won't be they won't be able to have any so there won't be four more permits will be generally i think converting flats into houses into flats on these small streets it's it's a problem yes no except that that is everywhere parking is problem everywhere so any other questions thank you thank you very much now we have the is the agent here i have your name is danielle sentier that's correct thank you chair thank you again if you can choose yourself you have three minutes to speak and give you an order when you have one minute left perfect thank you very much um good evening everyone and thank you for the opportunity to speak my name is danielle sentier um i'm a chartered member of the rtpi and the agent for the planning application um as you will have seen when you went out on site today um there are a number of householder extensions that have been recently consented and have been constructed or in the process of being constructed at the property um one of these is the the two story side extension which already looks to change the relationship between the property and the boundary particularly overlooking the um the cemetery the point about the turning circle is an interesting one because actually there is no sort of legal right over that land to be able to use it as a turning circle and the proposed two-story extension which is under construction at the moment is already going to change that ability to be able to use it for that purpose but what we spoke about earlier is in relation to the bin and bike stores if there's concerns around the location specifically of that there's a planning condition as well that if there's a condition that would allow us to move that or relocate that subject to planning conditions which could be assessed by officers at a later stage if there was a concern in relation to that with regards to turning of vehicles at the end of the road um i appreciate the concerns that have been raised by um by the objectors and the people that live on the road as been quite rightly pointed out by the chair the situation with the house as existing is it's entitled to two parking permits on the road the three flats as proposed would be entitled to no parking permits on the road at all so it would actually remove two of the permit holders from the road by way of this proposal if this were to be approved this evening so we hope that that would make the parking situation significantly better in relation to the policy position for this application your new policy ho u3 it specifically states that the council will optimize the potential for housing delivery through residential conversion and redevelopment of larger family homes if you go into that policy this thank you this site meets all of those criteria in terms of its location is its public accessibility transport rating as well so i find it hard to see that your council couldn't provide any more support for this type of subdivision of properties as it meets all of those identified criteria we're also looking to re-provide a three-bedroom property on the ground floor with a two-bedroom on the first floor and then a one-bedroom duplex in the loft so a real good mix of accommodation in this location which is also something that your local plan is seeking to provide the housing is sustainably located and will make optimum use of the site which was vacant for 10 years before it was purchased by my client so we don't want to end up in that situation for much longer the public right of access as well has been maintained so that we can we can ensure that that will continue to benefit the local residents you can see that that's been done through the inclusion of the archway which has already been built on site so i hope that that clarifies all of the points that have been raised but please let me know if you've got any other queries thank you thank you could i just ask do you know um how many other houses in that street are converted to flats to the best of my knowledge there are none that have been given planning permission explicitly however i'm aware that numbers five one five six and seven appear to have council tax records as though they have been perhaps converted earlier you know in the past so those properties appear to have been converted although albeit there was no planning permission explicitly for that purpose those are converted into two flats this is three i believe so i believe they're converted into two flats so three flats is rather larger than any others for that for that quite i mean the properties are all quite different along this road as well in terms of the size that's available to them um so there is enough you know there's more than enough space to be able to get a three bed a two bed and a one bed and all of them are all of them are exceeding the national space standards as well we've not made these small flats they are they're generously sized flats in accordance with the new london plan best practice guidance so we've made sure that they're suitable size so there is enough size there is enough square footage in this property to accommodate the the three flats that are proposed okay any other questions council roberts i just wanted to clarify it will be made clear to the occupants as when they're moving they have no parking rights there absolutely it would need to be so for anyone that was renting or purchasing these properties it would be marketed as such that there were no there was no ability to be able to gain a parking permit as part of their as part of their purchase or their rental so the previous speaker the objectors who very largely spoken about parking has been their concerns yeah of course as far as you're concerned that will not arise because there will be no parking spacing allocated with those properties there's no parking there's no permits allocated to those properties i'm aware of what what the uh objectors have mentioned in terms of the timings of the permits but they're even permitted at the weekend so how feasible is it that you're going to keep getting up and moving your car every time there's a restrict and where are you going to put it so i just i think if you are reliant on a car and you know that you can't get a permit in this location this probably isn't the location for you to be honest but there's plenty of people that are going to make use of the station the cycle parking that's available you know we're trying to shift towards more sustainable methods of transport i think there's plenty of people that would love to live in a location like this but that don't necessarily need to rely on a private car there's also a number of car club bays located nearby as well which people can rely on the other questions no thank you very much thank you shall i turn this off thank you any comments or questions for the officers yes can i just um ask about the amenity space um and uh how much space there is if if there are three flats on that side so the ground floor flat has this area here which i cannot read basically the the whole garden at the moment is about it's about eight by eight so 64 square meters um so i think the the ground floor probably has slightly under 30 square meters and the upper two floors flats have this area at the back here um which obviously is going to be well another third again over the size of the ground floor flat so it more than meets the standard for flats uh thank you and also that that diagram seems to suggest that the pavement is going to change which i assume it probably won't be because um at the moment as they were saying yes so this is the um that's the front the front wall of the properties this is the pavement if i just go back to the photograph the people have mentioned the turning circle um so as we saw on site this is the road and then it's a very small turning circle there's one on this side here and then you can see the double yellow line here that will stay the same so that won't change no so they can't do any develop over that part so the development has to take place back within the curtilage of the property um and then there was an equivalent double yellow line on the other opposite side on the other end property so it is a small turning circle but there is a slight area there that people can use to turn around okay thank you yeah i'd like to ask can you can you just clarify our policy for maintaining single family occupancy of houses and if if they are converted into flats um the the number of flats that each property should have so wonder you know two flats may be sufficient three flats may be too much in this property the emerging policy which is the one we need to go on really given it's kind of in a very quite advanced stage now is set out in the report to try and secure family housing and protect family housing there's a minimum size for a house that's to be converted so if it's less than 135 square meters we won't grant planning commission for flat conversion that's not the case in this with this one has to be within a p-tail of three or more which this one is or it has to be close to a town center but this is in a p-tail three area so that complies with the policy um all conversion applications have to provide a three-bed five person unit which this one does on the ground floor and then all other units should be 61 square meters and in this case they both are 61 or more square meters so they do meet the floor size criteria for the new policy the three flats here comply with our it complies with the new policy yes thank you any other questions comments and we'll go to the vote the offices are recommending approval all those in favor and against one not voting you're not one not voting so that application is approved and we move on to the next item which is Marwood court and Gradyton road this is an outline application to construct a third floor level to provide two one-bed flats on the top of an existing flat roof block also provision of off-street parking refuse recycling cycle storage for the whole block and new front access gates all items are to be considered as part of the outline except for landscaping which is the reserved matter so this is the site here at the end of Gradyton road off Ballard's lane opposite Victoria Park in Finchley central this is the block here as you saw on site the other side of the road is all housing terraced housing but this side of the road originally was all workshops and factories although there has been some residential development over more recent years this is the aerial photograph so that's the block here excuse me showing the relationship with the houses opposite the adjoining commercial buildings and the relationship with the properties here in Wentworth avenue and these properties down here are Wentworth park and that's the view from the other side photograph looking down Gunnison avenue so the site is on the left at the bottom down here that's the front elevation showing the existing commercial use next door so that's the building three floors with a flat roof and this shows the boundary with the rear of the gardens in Wentworth avenue and that's the view the other side so these are the existing floor plans the same on each floor and that's the existing elevations the existing proposed site plan so currently there's no bin store the bins were just left in sort this front area there is parking area at the back which but there's no formal layout for the car parking and this is a communal garden area which serves all the flats the proposal is to provide a gate here access into the sites to formalize the car parking sorry the cycle parking and the refuse storage within the front garden for all the flats and then to formalize car parking at the back here so the communal space here will be largely unchanged in terms of the garden area for the residents so that's the proposed rear and side so essentially a new crown roof is going to be formed on the top this is the side elevation and the rear elevation dormer windows in all the elevations here front and that's the front and side elevation so this is the one that you would see from the street the windows on this side here which will be the ones facing Wentworth avenue gardens are small kitchen windows and will be obscure glazed to prevent overlooking this is the proposed third floor showing two one-bed flats layout and the long section here so this is the the proposed so that's obviously the approximately existing height this is the new height it's only one and a half meters higher to the ridge than the existing and that's the Wentworth house so there it is slightly lower level here but this shows the distance of 30 meters 30 meter deep gardens to the properties in Wentworth and as i said the windows the dorm windows on this side here are obscure glazed to avoid overlooking nothing further to add thank you thank you we have one object mr k thank you mr k i'd like to confirm we have received your emails as well with your concerns and we have had a look at those uh again if you can put you put put the microphone on there's a button with the face on it you can see that um it's got a face on it near the bottom that's picture with the face okay three minutes to speak and you'll be given a warning when you have one minute left thank you very much indeed and good evening members um i'm actually here representing uh the neighbors so this my role is as an advocate on behalf of mr lester and the other neighbors who are here this evening um my name is danny k i'm a child surveyor and a member of the town and country planning association amongst other things i was born in barnet i've lived in barnet i've worked in barnet and i care about barnet i've been working in housing developments and urban regeneration for over 25 years i've worked on over 500 development regeneration projects including for seven years as the development director for a leading london housing association i now run a consultancy business aimed at promoting and delivering sustainable housing development as such i normally find myself advocating for new homes however this is a very this is a very rare example of the of the reverse i've been fully briefed by mr lester mr lester and neighbors and indeed have supported mark and others in in their objections barnet rightfully has an excellent track record of delivering high quality housing and indeed strong plans for significant new supply thousands of homes in key areas in other areas in barnet it is in this overall context that i believe this specific proposal is unnecessary inappropriate and is a rare example of a mistaken in my opinion application interpretation of barnet's own housing design and planning policies in particular i should draw your attention to the specific explicit wording contained in your 2016 supplementary planning document which is called the residential design guide proposals for new quotes proposals for new residential development should respond to the distinctive local building forms and patterns of development and respect scale mass and heights of the surrounding physical context i i don't believe this is the case the pre-existing building which no one can do anything about is an aberration predated the spd an extra story would definitely be out of keeping even if partly pitched in terms of scale and typology moreover the policy wording was designed to arrest further inappropriate additions of this data and i represent it do not demur from the housing needs yet in terms of the balance of harm the impact on all the neighbors of this additional story is out of keeping and uh how long do i have okay if i may i'd like to pass around this uh this photograph and just take issue with one of the slides that was up we're showing a tree um masking the uh the new build in fact this the reality of the situation is as you can see here effectively this area will be uh which is developed and will have a significant impact on the local character and suburban nature as defined in your own policies thank you thank you thank you questions um what i'd like to ask with with regard to that picture you showed from a garden so the current top floor is already overlooking the garden so yes this is the existing so other concerns is it's going to make it worse or it's going to make it worse significantly in what way if the garden so in terms of the overbearing and the over and the sense of being overlooked in the overbearing nature the impact on the gardens in in the area so if this is the distance the distance both between the building and the boundary and the building in the house i pick a pardon the distance between the building and the edge of the garden and the building of the house yes far exceed um the the minimum that should be i'm sorry i don't understand your point um the distance between between this building and the and the boundary of the garden and the garden yeah and more distance between that and the house yeah i understand and the breath of the committee report does make reference to distance but that is only one element there are a number of other policy references in your local plan in your emergent local plan in the sbt which actually counter that just a distance argument and i could quote from your own policies and i would i'm raising this because i do genuinely believe that this is inappropriate and will have an impact on the neighbors okay so but really the concern is just overlooking of garden the concern is overlooking the overbearing nature of the scheme the impact on the privacy or the sense of privacy and how that will affect the enjoyment of the gardens and the spaces uh that the neighbors currently enjoy the the pre-existing situation is not great but it is what it is you can't change that an additional story will have a material impact in terms of the sense of enjoyment and overlooking thank you uh castle barnes so and so if you get are you just representing people from wentworth avenue correct okay all right okay thank you okay thank you very much thank you uh and then we have the agent to henry i believe again you know you know how this works by now if you can introduce yourself to us then you have three minutes thank you chair and members um my name is joe henry and i'm the agent acting for the application like the speaking object i was born in barnet work in barnet live in barnet and care about barnet the application has been referred to this committee by council rich because he was concerned about a possible overlooking of gardens in wentworth avenue i did email council rich and he explained the windows facing the rear gardens of the properties in wentworth avenue are proposed to be obscure glazed to ensure no overlooking he kindly responded and said he did discuss the matter of local residents but the remain of the view that an extra floor impinges on their gardens as stated in your office report the proposed two proposed windows facing the rear gardens at wentworth avenue will be obscure glazed meaning there will be no overlooking i would also draw your attention to suggested planning condition number 10 which requires these windows to be obscure glass only and shall be permanently retained as such thereafter in respect of the impact the proposal has on the character and appearance of the area and the building itself i would comment as follows the application site forms part of a street which has a very mixed character of residential and commercial properties with varying designs massing and heights the proposal provides a crown roof extension on existing flat roof the existing flat roof block style building has limited architectural merit almost every other building within the road and indeed beyond in in wentworth avenue has a pitch roof the introduction of a pitch roof would significantly improve the design form of the existing building overall contributing positively to the character and appearance of the building and the locality it's also important to note the proposal seeks to provide two additional dwellings which will contribute to addressing the housing crisis something on which the new government has prioritized as their top priority thank you for listening i'll be happy to answer any questions you may have thank you any questions no it looks like you explained your style quite well thank you very much any comments or questions the officers Councillor Callick the existing height of the building includes a balustrade how much will the additional height how much additional height will be added by adding the pictures yeah this element here um is kind of a parapet around the existing flat roof so the additional height is about one and a half meters because part of that will be taken away to provide the the pitch so the oval ridge is not a full three meter high new additional floor it's um about one and a half meters higher to the top of the ridge thank you any further questions no then we should go to the vote the officers are recommending this for approval all those in favor of approval that's all so this application is approved thank you and we move on to the next one now which is forward side avenue good evening councillors this next application is forward side avenue concerning the demolition of the existing dwelling on site and the erection of a new building with the basement level to create six new self-contained flats this is the location plan of the site um you can see all right here's an aerial view um to the left there's a yellow star indicating the site and just to give you the context of the scheme the far right of the image is the finchley high road which is in the north eventually town center this is some photos aerial views you can see the opposite side of the applicant site has a variety of different buildings and building forms of flat roofs whereas the side that the applicant site is on is a more traditional um house form these are the existing elevations and the existing floor plans the proposed front and rear elevations so it's a two-story building with a crown roof form and at the bottom is a street scene image of how the building will appear amongst the neighbors side elevation the south side elevation facing the properties on woodside park road and the north side elevation facing number six woodside avenue section drawing there just illustrates the basement level and the light wells that are proposed there'll be a lower ground floor across lower ground and ground there'll be three duplex units so these are the ground floor units each of these units benefit from either a light well or a private rear garden amenity space two units at the first floor and one unit within the roof level here's the proposed site layout plan showing five parking spaces within the driveway at the front and a large communal garden at the rear so in summary officers have assessed that the principle of the conversion of the existing house and its redevelopment to be compliant with policy and acceptable the scheme would provide a good range of larger family-sized units with a good standard on accommodation and as to parking five parking spaces are proposed on site which has been again assessed to be compliant with policy the application is recommended for approval subject to conditions thank you we have four people listed of objectives we can only hear two so i don't know who is who is here now who would like to speak if you agreed which two are going to speak uh if you can turn the microphone on what's your name this is a picture of the face a picture of the face that's it that's it got it okay so are you on your neighbors right first of all my own are we just just who you are my name's rizwan koreshi sorry rizwan koreshi and i'm the resident of 56 woodside park road right yes thank you thank you if you can uh introduce yourself you have three minutes to speak you'll be given a warning when you have one minute left okay um my first point is that my understanding of the law is that it's got a built-in democratic factor every resident in the area has objected to this residence so i expect the committee based on this democratic principle to reject this development the other point i'd like to raise is from my point of view this application is invalid because it was wrongly validated by the planning department first of all they didn't have any scale or scale bar on their drawings secondly uh the site plan of the area is from 2016 it isn't the current uh site plan for the area so i failed to see with all these wrong informations how the planning department ever got to make that decision that or recommend approval for this scheme the other thing is in my view this contravenes council's own policies first of all i applied for planning application to my property which would have seen a first floor extension which was rejected i have no quarrel with that it was rejected that it was overbearing and it wasn't in keeping with the pattern of development on that street so this extension on four woodside avenue is going to result in a much much larger bulking than my extension was so i failed to see how the council can recommend uh this has been compliant with its own policies because they rejected mine this in effect is like adding a three-story extension to the existing property and it is huge uh that's my first point uh it's going to disrupt the development pattern of the street and if this application is allowed to carry on then what's to prevent every other uh house in that street becoming six flats i felt yeah a precedence will be set that's my thank you any questions no i think yes sorry to hear about your own problems with getting um i've got no problems with that i just i just well you brought it up so i just thought i thought i'd just ask you were you uh requesting to having a first for extension at the back of your property that's right yeah so that does differ to this this is on the side of the property no no no if you look at the development using the existing buildings as standard then the resulting bulk is a six meter three-story extension if you see what i mean no i don't see what you mean but um i have looked at the plans yeah it's uh it's uh it's outward projection is huge to the rear of the property on one floor no on three floors so we'll ask offices to clarify that with the planning offices any other questions no thank you very much um that so who else we've got three other names who else is speaking here just clarify that's okay with the other name and objectives that's no one else hoping to speak yes that's fine thank you and you you are i'll introduce myself good evening my name is mr chandok all right thank you yes i've lived in 12 oopside avenue since 1978 okay i'm just going to clarify you have three minutes to speak you'll be given a warning when you have one minute left fine thank you so basically i've lived in woodside avenue for 46 years in 1978 with my wife and i had two kids and then the third one was born in that house and there are six houses which are twins they're built by the same developer in 1945 number four six eight ten twelve and fourteen so when we purchased the house in 1978 they all looked like a tree lined detached houses on the right side and some victorian houses on the left hand side which were converted into flats recently one block was made of six flats without parking with 106 agreement and the other was 16 flats i don't know on what grounds they got it everybody objected but what we are finding now is that with this development they are going to change the entire connector of that street instead of detached houses we are going to start getting flats on the right side when we have none on the right side because there are six houses four six eight ten twelve and fourteen i'm number 12 since 1978 and number two excavation of the basement is going to threaten the foundations of all the adjoining houses because 1945 built houses are all having one meter deep foundations i did my own development my house was virtually back was demolished and done in 2002 and we made sure because of the crease at the back we had to go deeper foundations and with this excavation houses number four uh six eight and ten are going to be very badly affected and lastly it will be me as well at number 12 so we will have structural problems including subsidence and cracks in our walls because i've never seen any excavation in woodside avenue where you got a basement being done in the whole of woodside avenue i will ask you to check your planning records and the other question is basically parking is a nuisance now there's no space at all and as the previous applicants have pointed out to your good selves that basically people who even with 106 agreements they will try and use the resident parking spaces which are limited in the area between 6 p.m to 8 a.m in the morning and my only concern is that if i was right the gentleman was explaining there are two flats on the ground floor with basement two on the first floor that makes it four and one in the second floor but you're saying planning for six i don't know how the addition is done is it two two and one or is it two two and two that's my question to the planning officer and the parking should be minimum six to eight cars and i think there is not enough parking in the entire street you can't have two cars passing by parking on the left with single car only i had an accident on 22nd of november 2023 i nearly died my car was written off outside the new block of flats outside number four thank you thank you questions class roberts i'm just trying to understand where you're going are you against flats in principle my objection is basically it will change the character of the street totally already we have lost edwardian edwardian houses with big gardens converted into blocked two blocks of flat ones with six flats with section 106 no parking and the other one got 16 flats eight and eight they are on the corner of woodside park road and woodside avenue i had the accident outside there because the car came from the station and hit me at 50 miles per hour and the guy was prosecuted by the police and i'm waiting for my thing to be sorted on the high court for the injuries i suffered i'm sorry to hear about your accent but we're talking about the developments taking place in in the road you you say no flat should be allowed in that road that's my personal belief because already there's 22 flats down on that corner you can check your records if i'm wrong that was an edwardian house which was knocked down i know jeremy leaves told it and basically there's one block with six flats no parking and the other is 16 facts eight and eight joined together on the corner the planning officer will be best to answer that yeah so i can appreciate you saying that those houses are all the same but looking looking at the report um 16 to 18 woodside avenues that's next to where where you live uh that was allowed on appeal for for being demolished and there is precedent for this um but and and then 42 woodside avenue it's also been approved for conversion to five flats so there are precedents for this and and i know you're going to say that but also also i would say that from the design of this study large and there will be a basement which you have concerns about but otherwise it looks very similar to the the house at the moment so is that really going to affect the the impression of that row of houses number 16 and number 18 don't have any basements if i'm right they did they were not permitted any basement they wanted basement it was rejected on the first time second time they made it without the basement and they are not they are not detached houses so your the basement is the main concern definitely because it's going to affect the foundations of the existing six houses which are joining number four i'm number 12 i'm still four doors away rather than number six mr shah and number eight i think the vaswanis have sold out and somebody else has moved in number 10 the mr george they are very very concerned that's why they did not allow more than two speakers so we decided i would represent the people in woodside avenue and the gentleman my colleague will be representing woodside park road and there's a very strong objection i think there were over 50 objectors for that application and i'm i can't understand it obviously housing is needed but you're destroying the complete character of the street even number 16 and 18 have not started development i think they can't do the funding or something of the sort i know you permitted through the appeal about six or seven flats over there and there are two two properties which are joined together whereas this is a single one and you're permitting six flats which is an over development believe you me you try coming into that street i've been there 46 years and we love that area very very much okay thank you very much no no further questions thank you very much thank you um let me have the the agent the agent here i have garris stockbridge thank you mr stockbridge you have three minutes to speak you've given the warning when you have one minute left thank you good evening my name is garris stockbridge and i'm the agent for the application um we've been working closely with the planning department on this project for just over a year initially starting with pre-application advice which highlighted certain constraints and required amendment this was taken on board in the preparation of the subsequent formal planning application submitted in september 2023 since this time we have been in close contact with the planning department undertaking several rounds of amendments to address points raised during the consultation period and also changes in council policy as a result of this the matting of the proposal has been reduced and the number of units has also been decreased we have noticed several of the objection letters referring to the character of the road and the fact that the flats could affect this however as stated within the planning officer's report this issue was raised within the recent appeal decision at number 16 woodside avenue where the inspector decided that the character of the road had already changed drawing on references to other flooded developments that have been approved and constructed within the nearby area this has been followed up by subsequent planning approvals granted similar developers for similar redevelopment proposals within the road the proposed new building has been carefully designed to respect site constraints providing a stepped design to reduce impact on neighbouring properties the overall height has been set to keep the new building within the established roof line of the street we believe therefore that the scheme provides a high quality development of mixed accommodation sizes it conforms to planning policies and agree with the planning department that the application should be approved thank you thank you i just like to ask about the i mean you've you've commented that as i as i said that there are precedents with this um that the inspector has said that it's not out of character the difference with this one is is the basement yeah and the light well so i wonder if you could comment a little bit about the necessity for that the impact that that might have well the light the light well is set because of the depth of the front garden which is very deep the light well is set behind quite away from the pavement will be largely invisible it has planting around it so visually from the streets it would hardly be noticed the basement adds additional space it'll be built in accordance with building control structural designs and party wall awards which will be required if planning permission is consented thank you any further questions no that's all thank you very much thank you any questions the officers no so i think we're going to just go to the vote on that one the officers are recommending approval all those in favor of approval that's all thank you that application is approved i'll try and get through them all now that we're moving on to russell lane e-charger in russell lane okay so members are advised that this item has a corresponding advert app being heard in conjunction so i'm going to make just one presentation but then there'll be two votes subsequent to the discussion this application relates to the installation of an electric vehicle charging point on russell lane close to the junction with gallants farm road the unit will be situated on the outer edge of the broad pavement fronting the commercial parade servicing the first bay of the corresponding existing on-street parking the proposed unit will be 2.65 meters high and typical of those being rolled out across the borough by jolt in conjunction with the council the proposal will retain 3.5 meters of clear footway in line with the expectations of the tfl streetscape gardens and the disability act and the proposal is considered to be commensurate with the mixed commercial character of the setting and supports the rollout of net zero infrastructure in line with the strategic objectives of the development plan and is therefore recommended for approval thank you uh it's mr white here rub white's an object yes that you rub white right okay uh yeah the projector isn't here then yeah if you'd like to come speak then yeah so yeah you can introduce yourself and then again you'll have three minutes to speak be given a warning when you have one minute there thank you uh good evening councillors and everyone in attendance my name is patrick thomas and i'm the planning manager for jolt charge as you know jolt has been working in partnership with barnet council to deliver affordable on-street charging powered entirely by renewable energy to date we've installed 36 chargers which have delivered two and a half million clean miles to over 2 500 customers most of whom live in barnet the applications before you tonight are the culmination of months of hard work and considered site selection with your officers and stakeholders we are pleased officers have recommended the applications for approval and statutory consultees have raised no objections we would like to thank officers for their thorough report and collaborative working there are many benefits that flow from approving the jolt charger whether environmental social or economic it's worth remembering that electric vehicles benefit every resident whether they drive or not in barnet the car remains the principal mode of travel accounting for approximately 44 of all trips made barnet residents own 142 000 private cars which is the second highest level of car ownership in london approximately 4 000 deaths per annum in london are attributed to air pollution barnet has one of the highest rates with 201 deaths per year as a result in 2010 the whole borough of barnet was designated an air quality management area jolt is the only charging operator that provides a financial incentive offering 15 minutes of free charging equivalent to 30 miles for those without driveways to choose an electric vehicle we understand that electric vehicles and associated charging is new and there is a lot of misinformation out there the simple fact is that all residents will benefit from a greater number of electric vehicles on barnet's roads there are clear economic benefits a recent survey showed that around 80 of jolt customers spend in local shops whilst they are charging boosting the high street and local economies jolt promotes local businesses and charities through free advertising on screens this will be offered to all the businesses along russell lane jolt is already supporting charities and organizations such as the arts depot nor finchley and local independent businesses in temple fortune and mill hill to quote a local business owner in barnet since advertising on jolt screens we've seen a big increase in our business and the numbers through our doors we'd never have been able to afford this sort of advertising their presence is really making a difference barnet has rightly set ambitious carbon reduction targets and with 41 percent of emissions coming from transportation jolts can make a significant contribution towards these targets we hope members agree that the applications before them promote sustainability and green economic growth and can support the officer's recommendation for approval thank you for your time and we'd be happy to answer any questions thank you now i know that so the job charges are being you've identified sites and almost always not all wards in the borough and they're coming piecemeal to this committee at least two of us have had these installed in our wards already with more or less number of objections and concerns so this is another one that that on the face of it seems to have fewer concerns than than those in our in our particular wards so are there any further questions councilor roberts i just want to ask how long does it take to install these things and how disruptive is in terms of cabling and what else needs to be installed with it yeah that's a very good question it's very much down to um uk power networks and where the point of connection is obviously some installations are more straightforward than others where it's where the point of connection is close but i guess we'd hope to you know really do it within a week yeah five five working days um well i think once once again it's dependent on the point of connection obviously there's there's less disruption um for example if you you know don't have to cross a road for example so if it's in the existing pavement line that's that's very straightforward um but in many ways we're dictated to by uk power networks on where we connect to it's not it's not up to us we're unfortunately we get told by uk power networks where we have to connect the questions about a very minor question the this unit will just charge one vehicle is that correct that that's correct just one vehicle double check okay no further questions thank you very much thank you uh any questions to the officers yes kasler conway is it is it with an ev bay only or is it just for the charger uh well the application doesn't consider the designation of the bay understand from previous applications that have come before the committee that that's part of a separate uh some series of discussions with the highway authority to then go around and demarcate the bays um afterwards but it's not part of this planning application as such okay thank you um now there are two applications this one for installing installing the equipment and the other for using it for advertising do we have to take votes on those separately or i mean that they rely on each other we can't we can't if we if we vote for one and not the other then they don't go through we take them separately okay so we will go to the for the first one down here is item 12 which is for the uh no that's the item 13 i think is is should we go for first which is installing the equipment for pre-charging that if that makes sense yeah for the installation so the officers recommend approval those in favor of approval that's all and the other item for use of it for advertising that's and that's approved as well as those two items are approved and we now move on we're doing really well this evening move on to i think the final item torrington court so the final item is torrington court and torrington park in north finchley it's an existing development with three blocks of flats and the proposal is to create five additional flats on the roof two of the blocks will have the existing pitched roof converted to a crown and dorm windows incorporated to provide flats and the larger block will have a whole new floor with a pitched roof added to provide additional flats to that block so this is the site it's not working this is the site here so these two blocks are two stories high at the moment and this one is three that's an aerial view and some site photographs so the side elevations of the two smaller blocks front onto the road block a at the back is the one that's higher but it is set well back from the street frontage and the bottom right shows the rear elevation at the moment and the communal garden area you'll notice this existing external fire escapes those are going to be removed as part of the proposal and the existing flats will be given juliet balconies on the rear elevations uh some more photos those are the existing ground and first floor plans the existing second floor which is only at the moment on the block at the back and the existing elevations showing the relationship with neighbouring properties the property on the left hand side is actually a listed building it's one of three properties that are listed and the existing elevations and sections and again that shows the fire escapes to the rear which are going to be removed so the proposed block plan shows the frontage area which is currently used for sort of haphazard parking there's a block of garages around the back which don't actually form part of this application site and they're not used by residents they're used for storage according to the applicant so the proposal includes the provision of additional parking laid out at the back to serve these new flats the proposed ground and first floors part of the works involves internal alterations to lobbies around the staircase to ensure that the staircase is compliant as an escape stair given the existing external stairs are being removed but that's all internal work that's a new proposed second floor so you've got two flats in each of the sorry two flats on the block at the back at at this level and one flat in each of the two lower blocks at the front and then the additional flatter within the roof space of block a which is the one to the rear so you can see looking at the roof plan there are no dormers facing the neighboring properties at to the sides the dormers for the front blocks are inward facing facing each other and the other block a block a has normal windows within the rear elevation but that is some distance from the rear boundary so there's no concerns over overlooking from those windows that's a more detailed roof plan and the proposed elevations the red outline is the existing building so you can see the increase in height provided to the larger block at the back and then the smaller blocks which are actually not increasing in height they're just increasing in the shape in the shape of the roof which will be slightly increased to create more of a crown roof and some other elevations and that's the location in context within the street so as those two blocks at the front aren't actually increasing in height they're just increasing in terms of the pitch to create the crown roof and the block that is having the increased floor is set well back from the street frontage so the proposal officers consider is is in keeping in in this part of the street the increased height to the rear is not considered to be particularly overbearing given how far it's set back there's no increase in footprint the fenestration changes are acceptable in terms of their appearance and given the relationships of the building to the neighbors and the fact there are no normal windows on the side elevations that would overlook the neighboring gardens there's considered to be no adverse impacts on the neighboring amenities and the application is recommended for approval thank you thank you we have no speakers on this one so i'll ask the agent for the application to come forward thank you if you can turn the microphone on there's a face picture face that's it let's introduce yourself you have five minutes to speak and if you give me a warning when you have one minute left thank you good evening committee my name is Oliver virtual from brooks mary architects i am the architect for this this application the scheme submitted for your consideration is a simple development which represents a sustainable way of delivering housing and optimizing the potential of a previously developed site the current proposal is a result of constructive engagement with your officers which started with a pre-application meeting over a year ago we've worked closely with your officer to make suggested amendments to our design including a reduction in the massing of the proposal to protect the surrounding streetscape and neighboring amenity the revised scheme with its reduced scale and number of units is here tonight with full recommendation for approval from your officer we appreciate that some neighbors have concerns with regard to the application we have a chance to review those applications and acknowledge that some of them are rightly understandable development control worries including privacy overlooking and overshadowing however your officer has exhaustively examined each of these concerns and concluded the impact of the proposal on its immediate surrounding falls within acceptable limits other residents are understandably concerned about noise and disruption caused by the construction works my client is an experienced developer who has successfully undertaken many similar schemes across north london and if the application is successful a construction management plan will be submitted for approval under condition my client's team will continue to engage with residents to constantly ensure that they are consulted and kept informed and works slightly across to um i noticed uh i've heard via by the officer that there was some comments about the removal of fire escape stairs the existing flaws on block a which is the the taller of the blocks is to be adapted to as per the submitted drawings to include protected lobbies with double doors at each entrance to each unit and this will ensure that the main stair of the primary block is a fully compliant fire escape stair with venting windows going forward this solution is much safer for residents than using external staircases which are obviously susceptible to getting wet and therefore slippy thank you in summary the scheme represents a good represents an opportunity to provide five new good quality homes without any long-term harm to the amenity of existing residents the proposed scheme will also give our client the opportunity of enhancing the existing state estate for example through the provision of dedicated waste stores which the building does currently doesn't have secure cycle parking for both new and existing residents as well as enhanced landscaping thank you thank you any questions um i'd just like to ask a little bit more about removing the fire escapes and you've mentioned that so can you confirm um that this this meets fire regulations that what what are the arrangements because only one staircase and one exit for people to escape so um on the large on the larger of the blocks which obviously um poses the most uh danger if you will the um submitted plans have um the addition of an additional lobby to each of the units all over the building so that you uh as you're escaping you go through two doors two sets of doors which prevents smoke from flats getting into that lobby uh which with the stairs in it the stairs then have a um have windows all the way up which vents the smoke out so that that that if that staircase that comes all the way down the building will be a safe way to escape the building um we had we did discuss that the the removal of the removal of the the fire escape stairs with your with your officer and and we originally had them remaining as balconies um we've then because they were not satisfied that was a good solution we've reduced them back to to juliet balconies as i said at the moment they're not they're not um they're not a particularly safe way of escaping from a building okay so you have you have reports from the fire service that this isn't approved um we we we have used you know we're um we we do a lot of this form of development we have um our target obviously will be will be the um compliance with part b of the building regulations at um building control stage what we have designed allows us to fulfill that duty and we will obviously be seeking building control approval when we when we get back i mean clearly you know fire is a major concern absolutely this is a nobody large one but we have had fires in in smaller blocks in bonnet as well so no no this is one thing one of the other comments on the objections was about the removal of trees i think there may have been trees that were removed before that are now going to be replaced i'm not sure if you can comment i can't speak for what's happened um prior to to my involvement in this scheme from from 2021 then there i think there were trees at the front of the front front of the site which i believe were lay land eyes so not particularly high quality you will see on our drawings you can see just up there that at the front of the site we're proposing to bring back some landscaping and i believe your office has conditioned a a full landscaping scheme which which will certainly enhance the area no trees are being removed for this not past this application thank you councillor calick sorry this question is just for my education i was always told to believe that um that leaving windows open where events open fuels fires and yet you're saying it's there to um let the smoke out so i'm a little bit confused on that point so the the the theorem would be that if there was a fire in a flat in the building the additional lobby that we've added to the building would stop that smoke getting into the fire sorry into the staircase beyond and because the staircase has existing had windows that are open all the way up that's that staircase will a be prevented by that lobby from from filling with smoke and if for whatever reason it did any smoke that goes into that staircase will rise up the staircase and straight out the windows on the outside of the building does that make sense uh i i could refer you to to the to the part of them in this with this building would become what's called a small single stair building in the building regulations and it would be compliant with that with that um building regulation that's i mean that that's why we've brought those lobbies into these into these buildings into this building to to fulfill our duty under the building regulations to to ensure that there's a a safe means of escape for these blocks for this block of flats given the exchange that's just occurred about the removal of the escapes and how fire risk continues to be mitigated it might be useful to hear briefly from the officer to clarify that of course the internal matters would be a matter for building regulations but just to reassure members for the record before a decision is taken the officers should briefly clarify yeah any other questions for the yes so if if officers could clarify about when this meets fire regulations for fire escapes with their external fire escapes well obviously we as part of the planning process we don't deal with building regulations so we've been told that the works they're proposing internally will make the internal staircase suitable for being used as an escape staircase by the measures that the agent just talked about so if that is the case and it's then complying with building regulations then it's not a matter that we need to be concerned about and there's no requirement for a fire statement um as per government policy because the building's not it's not 18 meters high so it doesn't need to to go through the formal process of having the fire strategy approved which is different for high-rise buildings four floors is quite high to jump out of the window if you think i'll get it is but in terms of sort of national requirements it has to be an 18 meter high building to require the additional submission of additional statements so chair i was concerned about this also and my my understanding is now that correct me from if i'm wrong um to the planning officer that the escapes having been removed building regulations have satisfied themselves that the internal staircase is sufficient to allow for escape and some of the other documentation is not required i just wanted that noted for um clarity on the record that this has been considered that it's been taken care of elsewhere through building regulations particularly given the removal of those structures and i think that clarification has been given now i think i think the agent said they haven't people don't apply for building control approval until they've got planning permission so but he's obviously if he's experienced he's done these kind of with this work before he's clear i mean if for some reason they do have to change the plan and that has a material change on planning permission they'd obviously need to come back to to vary their planning permission so as far as i understand fire safety is is i think it's dealt with by building ricks yes this particular application okay thank you very much no other comments or concerns we'll go to the vote on this one the officers are recommending approval all those in favor of approval that's all that application is approved thank you very much um now the next meeting is in is there only two weeks i think on wednesday the 9th um so we're proposing site visits on tuesday the 8th if that's suitable colleagues and we'll probably we'll have the virtual briefing on the same day but that's to be confirmed but certainly site visits on the tuesday yes if that's not cancelled that's that's that's yes that's yes that's on the tuesday street yeah yeah all at once okay thank you very much

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